Fading Love
by SasukexKaname
Summary: Three shinobi, three lives, one hope... A fading love, one last chance to prove themselfs. Can they save their hearts from darkness?  SasukexOC, ItachixOC, KabutoxOC,and other minor pairings. Lemons in future chapters. *UNDER CONSTRUCTION!* OC centric!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Kana's breath exploded from her mouth in a quick, cold cloud of white. The snow beneath her feet crunched like dry bones as she ran across the frozen lake, as she ran for her life...

"Almost there," she told herself. Looking behind her, her eyes widened in surprise as she watch in horror. "He's gaining on me," Kana Hatake scream helplessly in her mind. Shutting her eyes tightly, she turned her head back towards her destination. The eight year old pressed her lips together in a thin line, hoping to suppress the scream she had been so desperately trying to hold in. She needed to focus on the goal ahead of her; the abandoned warehouse.

The sound of the running footsteps neared and now she could smell the rusty scent of blood rolling off her pursuer.

"I have to get to the warehouse! I know I'll be safe there!" Kana heard herself think franticly. Jumping onto the walkway, the teen ran until she finally got to the old house. She grasped the cold metal handles and pulled with all her strength only to fall backwards into the cold snow. Snapping her head up to glare at the door she noticed the handles were iced. "Of course," she said under her breath. Violently pulling her mittens off with her teeth, she exposed her small, pink hands to the arctic air. Kana got up and pulled at the door again. It opened reluctantly.

"Yes!" she breathed a sigh of relief, letting yet another puffy cloud spill from her cold, red lips. The girl ran in and leaned against the metal door with all her strength. She had just enough time to hear the man that has been chasing her pull on the door knob. He flung it open easily, sending Kana flying to the ground in the process.

"Kya!" Kana's tiny body hit the back of the metal tin wall and she fell to the ground with a thud. Her side was screaming in pain and she could feel the hot sticky liquid dripping down it.

Opening her eyes a little she saw the fuzzy outline of a man walking standing over her. She tried crawling backwards, but only met the cold dead end of the wall. Looking past the man, she saw that the door was still slowly closing. Her only hope left was slowly fading away. The light in the warehouse was almost gone and was just about completely black. Then she heard the man chuckle. He sounded so far away, yet she knew he was right there. His breath was on her face and the scent was disgusting. She would never be able to look at peppermints the same way if she survived this. Kana took one last frantic glance at the closing door

'There has to be some way out!'

Kana turned her scared eyes back to the man who was now bending down to grasp her throat. Kana's breath's were quick and shallow now as he began squeezing the life out of her protesting body.

'What am I thinking?' She looked up through long tunnels "He just killed his whole clan in less than two hours! I can't win!" The man above her chuckled when she looked longingly at the door.

"Don't think you can escape me now Kana..." he purred

"I'm not going to run," she gasped out.

The door was almost closed now. About an inch left.

"I'm going to fight you."

Half an inch!

"And I will win!" The door closed with a riveting bang. With the strength she had left she bit down on the man's arm. His grip loosened just enough for her to get away. Kana jumped up and did a messy flip over Uchiha Itachi.

After staring at her in anger, he tried to recompose himself.

"You don't actually think you could kill me. I mean, I am your little boyfriend's brother. Would you be willing to hurt him like that?" His sarcasm was leaking through his voice like venom.

Kana's serious expression quickly turned to one of despair.

"Your right," she said with a sad frown, "there's no way I could do that to Sasuke."

Itachi smiled demonically.

"But then again," Itachi's smile dropped, "I can at least capture you and turn you in!" Itachi laughed hysterically.

"You? You think you can turn me in? That's rich! At least Sasuke was smart enough to beg me not to kill him! You're only a little eight year old!" Kana had to admit, she was taken aback by this statement, so she quickly did some handseals.

"Kaiton: Fire Jutsu!"

The little flame did nothing but singe his cloak a little. Little Kana was terrified. She slowly stumbled back towards the door, wanting nothing more than to escape.

"I thought you were going to capture me?" The sound of blade being drawn tore the girls hopes apart. Little Kana's eyes were wide with terror. Itachi grinned.

"You should have begged me when you had the chance, you stupid girl."

Kana only had time to think about one thing before Itachi reached her.

"Sasuke, I love you!"

There was a sudden, deep and excruciating pain on her back. She didn't even have time to scream before her body hit the ground. Kana could feel the warm blood running against her snow cold skin. Everything was getting dark. Kana helplessly laid there as her body slowly went numb. She could hear Itachi in the distance, leavening.

"Goodbye Kana." He stopped and looked down at her blood body. "This will be the last time."


	2. Returned and Reunited

**Fading Love**

**By: Kaname Hatake**

**Chapter 1: Returned and Reunited**

'Wow...' the 14 year old thought to herself. 'It's been 5 years...'

Kaname Hatake and her surrogate father, Kakashi, stood nostalgically in front of the gates. Kaname sighed as Kakashi pulled out his, um, book. You know, the one with all the lemon shit? Make me paradise or something like that...

Standing there, the girl remembered how she never thought she'd see this place again…Konoha Village...

_Flash Back_

_"Wait," she stuttered, "WHAT?" Kaname looked at Kakashi quizzically before realizing he was serious. Her jaw dropped. _

_"That's right," the silver haired man sighed. He looked bored out of his wits. "We're moving back to Konoha."_

"_But... why?" Kaname glarred at the sandy ground. They had literally just got settled in the Sand village. Why did they have to leave so soon? _

_Kakashi saw the disgruntled look on his adopted daughters face. "Kaname," called. The brunette looked up. "Remember the day I took you in?" She nodded. "I told you we would be going back. It's time..." _

_End Flashback_

After a second of reminiscing, a lone leaf nin stepped in for the usual check. A hundred bags later and a few glimpse at Kaname's skimpy underwear, which she thoroughly pumbled them for, it was night fall. Kakashi immediately went to the Hokage to report in, but not before turning to his daughter, ordering her to go straight home.

"Yes sir," Kaname chirped, saluting him. He gave his famous sigh and glared at the short child.

"Kaname, be serious for once in your life and just do as you're told..."

Kaname put a pout on her face. "Fine," she shrugged, "whatever..." The brunette grabbed the keys from his hand and walked to the new, well, kind of new, home.

It was pretty sad that she still remembered it was. After all, it was the first house she lived in after the incident. Kaname shuddered.

'This place gives me the creeps...' she mentally groaned. Still, she continued walking… and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking...

"AH!" she finally yelled. "Is there no END to this maze?"

FWWWWWOOOOOOOOSHHHH~~~~~~~~~~~

The leaves in the trees blew uneasily, and the wind blew the girls shoulder length hair to the side. For some reason, her body moved with it. Through the mess of hair, Kaname saw something. The wind settled, and Kaname saw what had caught her attention. It was a sign. It read 'The Uchiha Clan'.

"That's weird...," she thought. "A village inside the village?"

Abruptly, something clicked inside her memories, sending her head throbbing uncontrollably. The Hatake gasped and clutched her temples tightly. Everything swirled around the corner of her eyes, but then, it was gone.

Kaname felt winded, so she felt for something to hold onto.

'W-What WAS that?' she wandered, mortified. Kaname looked back up through long tunnels. 'Uchiha...'

Kaname took a step towards the sign, then stopped. She didn't want that headache to return.

Nothing came, so she took another hesitant step, then another, and another, and another.

Before she realized it, she was inside the little village wondering the ghostly streets.

'What happened here?'

Dried blood stained the streets, buildings where punctured with holes, and not a soul was there. No one...

Kaname continued to walk the eerie streets until she reached a large pond.

A cold wind wrestled with Kaname. She shivered slightly and looked down at the creepy lake. "Well, tonight's just full of surprises, isn't it…"

The lake she was looking at was covered in ice. Not only that, but there were different ice sculptures decorating it. The one that caught her attention the most though was the centerpiece.

"It's the middle of fall," Kaname whispered. "How can there be ice?" Kaname ran to the other side of the lake and hopped down the stairs two at a time. During her descent, she noticed it got colder.

Finally, Kaname reached the bottom and walked along the dock. She sat at the end and let her feet dangle. "It sure is chilly…" she quivered. Cupping her hands to her mouth, she blew her warm breath into her numb hands. Besides the puffs of white that escaped her parted lips, there were also flames. Small and tiny, they licked at her frigid hands and sent waves of relieve crawling through her body. As much as Kaname hated the cold, she had to admit it was worth it just to see this.

The ice glowed a soft blue, making Kaname glow slightly with it, and as she looked closer, Kaname realized that each carving had a specific symbol in it. Kaname squinted so she could make one out; it was an ANBU symbol with a name under it. The name was-

Kaname's eyes sight went blurry again...

Something Uchiha... That's all she could see.

Kaname rubbed her eyes in a futile attempt to make the fuzziness stop, but nothing happened.

"Fine!" she huffed. "I give up!"

At that exact moment, the teen's eyesight returned to normal. Agrivated, Kaname stood up and spun around on her heal.

Without warning, a solid fist collided with her stomach. The air rushed from the girls lungs with a pop, and a rough hand grasped firmly around her throat. Not a moment later was the venerable Hatake pinned to the ground. A kunai stabbed through her hand, permanently pinning her to the dock. She screeched in pain, lights popping in her gray blue eyes.

"I- I need to- get- out-!" she trembled. With the little strength she has left, Kaname brought her leg up and kicked her captor in the side of the head. The person yelped and flew off the dock and onto the ice. Kaname saw them skid, but recover by doing a quick flip. The person was charging at her not a moment later. As quick as she could, Kaname pulled the kunai out of her hand and ran to attack. She threw the kunai, but lost her footing. The knife missed and landed somewhere in the bushes nearby.

The ninja laughed at her weakness.

'I can't let him beat me…' Flying through hand seals, she yelled, "Kaiton: Yuna no Jutsu!" Wind flew from her hands as she threw a punch at the ninja. 'Humph,' she thought smugly, 'any attack will just be absorbed into the wind. As long as this person doesn't use fire, I'll be fine.'

"Kiton: Gaoukakyuu no Jutsu!" A huge fireball erupted from the man's mouth.

"Ahh!" Kaname screamed as she fell to the ground. Why did he have to be a fire user? The wind backfired, making the inferno blaze hotter and bigger. The flames licked at her skin uncomfortably. Kaname fell to her knees, and the ninja huddled behind her a second later, a kunai on her neck.

Kaname knew it was a male, maybe her age, from his voice when he said the jutsu. Plus, when he had pinned her down, his body was smaller, not big like most adult ninja's. The guy yanked Kaname's arm back and pinned her to the ice.

"Who are you?" he yelled so loudly that Kaname ears began ringing. She didn't answer, so he dug the knife into her neck. Kaname could feel the blood trickle downwards. She moaned in discomfort and pain. The ninja pushed it deeper against her lush skin. Soon, the pain became unbearable, so she reluctantly replied.

"Is it really any of our damn business?"

Kaname felt his weight shift, and then felt it disappear. He had jumped off her, and quickly at that.

"Wait," he stated, "what?"

Kaname moved slowly, afraid to be pinned again. She felt dizzy, but she was too angry to care.

"Why the HELL did you attack me?" The cut on Kaname neck started blowing blue as her chakra healed it. The boy watched with wide eyes. Now Kaname was in his face. "Seriously, do I need a restraining order already?"

The boy just took a steady breath.

"Humph."

He turned and started walking away.

"Wait," Kaname shouted. Kaname snatched his wrist and span him around. He was so surprised that he slipped-and fell forward- onto her; and of course, because she was still choking his wrist, guess who went down first...

He fell onto of Kaname, landing in a very awkward position. Her hands had fallen on top of a certain part of his anatomy—ehem—shorts. The boy's right hand held Kaname's head into the nape of his—nakedish—neck, which protected her from the fall. Kaname's tiney breasts were pressed against his—muscular—torso and their—naked-ish—legs were sprawled with one another. His left elbow was stabilizing his and her weight, while a raised eyebrow was the only expression on his face. And all Kaname could do was blush.

THU- THUMP!

'W-Why am I breaking her fall?' the teen questioned. When he slipped, as a reaction, he held her close to himself so she wouldn't get hurt.

THU- THUMP!

Sasuke Uchiha could feel her tension when she realized what was going on. Uncomfortably, she squirmed in his arms. Then she quickly scooted out from under him.

Kaname jumped up and did a small flip and landed unbalanced on her feet. Sasuke locked eyes with the girl and stared silently at her for a long time.

He could see the silhouette of her body. She was about three inches shorter than himself, and she was slim with shoulder length hair. Her hand glowing. It was the one he had stabbed to the bridge in his rage.

'She's healing herself?' he thought, amused.

The nest thing he knew, her hands were in a seal formation. She poofed away in a puff of white smoke. All that's left is a piece if paper floating down towards the ice. Sasuke caught it cautiously. For all he knew, it could be a paper bomb.

Well, boring, it wasn't. It was a note. It read:

'Lets hope we never meet again, or I WILL kill you!'

'No name or anything.

Sasuke sighed. It could have been anyone, so there was no use searching for the culprit... With that, the Uchiha turned and walk away, hands stuffed in his pockets. He didn't get very far before a voice stopped him.

"Well, well, look at The Sasuke Uchiha now. Beaten by a girl?"

Sasuke tensened.

" Not that that hasn't happened before, ne Sasuke?"

Said boy turnedto see Her walking towards you.

"Hn," he grunted. "What do you want?"

The girl laughed. "Come on Sasuke, lighten up, I was only kidding!" She strode over to the awaiting boy and peered up at his face. Her long white hair was tied up in a pony tail with two small pieces hanging out, snake claps at each ends. Her Anbu outfit and mask gleamed in the light of the lake.

Sasuke could tell she was smiling. Glaring at her, he turned around and began walking the other way. Quickly, he was jerked back. Now, She was glaring too.

"Sasuke, do you even know who that girl was?" She took Sasuke confused face as a 'no'. Her eyes narrow. "That was Kaname Hatake."

Sasuke froze.

"She's back." she said.

Sasuke's eyes widened in horror. His voice was shaky when he replied.

"T-that was her?" Suddenly everything seemed to make since. When he landed on her, he caught a glimpse of her eyes. For a moment, he had thought he were looking straight at Kana, the little girl and best friend his brother had killed along with the rest of his clan.

Sasuke jerked away from the Anbu Leader and turned to go anywhere but there.

-X-

Kaname ran through the streets like a maniac! 'Why did I have to be curious and get myself in trouble?' This seemed to always happen. She would disobey Kakashi's orders and Karma would come and bite her in the ass. 'Now,' she though as she looked around, 'if I'm right, his house is right around here... '

Kaname stopped in front of a small apartment and banged on the door.

"Naruto! Naruto, open up," she yelled! Kaname threw her fist at the door again in a final attempt to wake the sleeping wonder. Instead of her angry fist hitting the door, it came in contact with soft, spiky blond hair. Naruto yelped as he fell helplessly to the ground , a rapidly growing bump now on his head. He glared up at his visitor.

"What?" he screamed. Kaname began a short count-down in her head with bored expression smeared on her face.

' 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1.'

Realization hit his face and his famous sheepish grin became plastered on his face. "Well if it isn't Kaname- chan!" He leapt up and grabbed the girl in a tight bear hug. Dragging her into the small apartment, he started rambling on and on about how he had missed her and how much they had to catch up. When he stopped for air, Kaname interrupted.

"Naruto!"

The boy turned around and smiled at the brunette.

"Oops," he muttered, rubbing his hand through his spiky sun streaked hair, "sorry..."

Kaname let out a dry laugh. 'Same old Naruto I see...'

When Kaname had first lived in this village, making friends was really hard. She was always compared to a girl named Kana, and she never knew why. But when she met Naruto, he didn't even ask about her. He just grinned and asked her to have ramen with him. 'He was my first friend...' Kaname smiled.

Now that she took a good look at him, she realized how much he had grown... He still had his childish features, but he was grown... Enough... :p

She shook her head and tried to remember why she was here. When Kaname looked down at her lap, she saw her blood smothered hand. 'Oh yeah!' she giggled, 'I came to clean up...' Kaname looked back up at Naruto. His grin faltered for a split second before commenting on her appearance.

"What happened to you?" he mocked. "Looks like you got into a fight!" He laughed. "Finally find someone worth your time?"

It was Kaname's turn to laugh.

"Haha! Yeah, I guess you could say that... But he still lost, whoever it was..." Kaname stood up. "Naruto, where's your bathroom?"

The blond pointed down the tiny hallway.

"Over there on the right."

Kaname thanked him and walked through the tiny apartment halls and to a door with a sign attached to it. It said:

'BEWARE! NARUTO'S BATHROOM!'

Kaname laughed and grasped the handle. How bad could it be?

Inside was the worst smell she could ever imagine. Toothpaste was globbed here and there on the counters and two lights were burnt out. The shower had mildew around the sides and the water in the toilet looked murky.

Kaname gulped. 'This is unorthodox!' she cried. 'How can anyone live in this filth?' Reluctantly, Kaname closed the door and went to the sink. She let the water run a sec to warm it up, and then splashed it over her face. It was so soothing, feeling the small droplets of water trickle down her face and nose. Kaname washed the dried blood off her hand and covered the few bruises (which, I might add, were already black and purple) as best she could.

Kaname took a final glance in the mirror, admiring her handiwork. "This will have to do..." she muttered. Kaname couldn't see any marks or bumps and the blood was gone. Her ninja gloves were still a bit damp, but by the time she got home, they would be dry. Kaname re-did her hair, placing the barrettes back in their rightful places. But then, she messed it up a bit. Kakashi would notice if her hair was too perfect, especially after a long day of traveling.

Satisfied, Kaname unlocked the door and stepped out into the breathable air. She gratefully took in a lungful and returned to Naruto. When she spotted him, he was in the kitchen making, oh, surprise, ramen.

'Oh, this is too good to pass up…' Quietly, Kaname snuck up behind him and gathered a mouthful of air, and then yelled, "NARUTARD, I'M BACK!"

Naruto must have jumped 10 feet, his ramen went up in the air with him. Realizing his beloved treat was about to be sacrificed for Kaname's evil ritual, he quickly grabbed it and took the fall first, ramen on his stomach an still in tacked. He sighed thankfully and glared at his female friend only to find her rolling on the ground with laughter! Slowly but surely, a smile crept onto his face and he too began laughing.

When the two calmed down, Kaname stood up and offered a hand to Naruto. He took and walked Kaname to the door. He grabbed her into another hug.

Still hugging, he whispered in her ear. "It was really cool seeing you again Kaname- Chan..."

Kaname felt her face flush. She stumbled with her words.

"Ye-yeah," she said in an exasperated tone, "cool. Totally cool." Kaname broke apart and immediately turned to walk away, waving behind her and yelling a quick goodbye before running off.

'This has been a really weird night…' she reflected as she headed home.

-X-

After Sasuke abandoned Her, the ANBU Leader decided to pay Kaname a little visit. "Damn!" she growled, "That kid has been here for 5 seconds and is already causing mayhem!"

The girl jumped from tree to tree, searching for Kaname's scent. Finally, she faintly detect it.

'West,' she mentally noted. With a sharp turn, she headed in the Hatake's direction to give her a well deserved scolding.

With Kaname in your sight, the Leader smelt Naruto all over her. No wonder it was so hard to find the girl! Her scent was being covered with Naruto's. Gracefully, she jumped down and landed right in front of Kaname. Shocked, Kaname stumbled backwards.

'What is she doing here?' Kaname wondered.

"Simple," the ANBU Leader replied to Kaname's thoughts, "I've come to remind you of your place!"

Out of habit possibly, Kaname jumped up and crossed her arms solidly over her chest.

"What do you mean 'remind me of my place'?"

The masked girl continued to glare at the Hatake and began walking towards her.

"I'm free to do whatever I want, Anbu- Sama!" Kaname continued.

The Leader's eyes became slits behind her mask.

"Besides," Kaname continued, "it's not like I've done anything wrong!"

'That's it!' the white haired girl growled. Swiftly, she grabbed Kaname's arm and yank it up in the air. If you had blinked, which Kaname did, you would have missed it.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" She moved her hand up to Kaname's gloved one and felt the cold dampness and the tare. "Your glove is damp," she state in a nonchalant manner. "And," she brought in down to her nose, "it smells of blood." The Leader turned her head up a slight angle to meet Kaname's horrified face. She tried to yank free, but had no luck.

"So?" Kaname seethed. "I cut my hand!"

The ANBU girl smiled.

"Or," she replied, her tone amused, "you got into a fight with one of my dear friends..." Once again, Kaname's face was shocked. The Leader chuckled. "Why don't we take you home to get... _situated_... and I'll explain to you, AGAIN, the rules of my village."

Kaname rolled her eyes. The ANBU Leader anger striked an even better idea aflame in her mind.

"Better yet," she said, venom oozing off her words, "I'll let your father explain..."

Kaname's eyes widened, and before she could retort, she transported themselves to the Hatake home.

Kaname landed clumsily on her bed. Sitting up and looking around, she recognized her room.

"We're here," the ANBU Leader said in a sing-song-ish tone. She went to the door. "I'll go get Kakashi and we can all get used to each others company, how about it." Closing the door rather loudly behind her, she began descending the steps to the main floor. Before she had even gotten to the bottom, Kakashi was already running up. He stopped cold at the sight of his superior. Smiling through her mask, she greeted him.

"It's been a while, Kakashi- San."

Kakashi just nodded and murmured a small hello. Being quick to catch on, he asked about her being here. Her happy smile turned into a sinister one.

"Oh, there's not much of a problem," she sigh. Kakashi sighed in relief. "Except," she began again, "your daughter has managed to get into a rather intense battle with, surprise, Uchiha Sasuke."

Kakashi's eye widened before becoming filled with anger. The ANBU Leader reached up and pull off her mask, allowing her icy blue eyes to connect with his glossy gray one. The, she yanked her hair out of the pony tail and allowed it to fall to its full length. It fell all the way past her knees. Leaning down to Kakashi's ear, she whispered, "Your daughter is waiting for you up stairs... shall we go greet her?" The sinister devil took his grunt as a yes. Turning, the two began making their way back upstairs.

When the door opened, Kaname was hanging off her bed, allowing all her blood to rush to her head. (Not on purpose of course...) She quickly sat up and knelt on her bed with her hands folded on her lap. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she noticed her cat-like position.

Looking back at the people in her room, Kaname saw the Anbu Leader in the back corner of her room, and Kakashi standing in the doorway looking angry. She gulped. 'This isn't going to end well...' Kaname then noticed that the Anbu leaders hair was down and her mask was off, but her face was in the shadows making it impossible for Kaname to see her face at all. She saw her grin devilishly.

"Well," she sighed, "better get going! Kakashi, I'll leave her to you!" Kaname stared at her with pleading eyes. All she did was sticking out her tongue and poof away in a cloud of smoke.

At that exact moment, Kakashi's hand slid across Kaname's face, leaving a huge red mark on her cheek. Stunned, Kaname couldn't even move her head to look at him.

"What the hell!" Kakashi screamed at his daughter. "I told you to come straight home, and instead you get in a fight with HIM of all people! For once, why couldn't you have done what you where told? Is it really that hard for you to comprehend?" His words stung the teen's heart. Kakashi wasn't done yet. Roughly grabbing her shoulders, he forced Kaname to look at him. She knew she was dead the second she saw his eye. It was filled with anger and frustration and hatred. The hatred was not aimed towards her, she knew that, but towards her actions. After what seemed like centuries, Kaname found her voice.

"So what?" you muttered back. Not used to having Kaname retort, Kakashi was taken aback for a moment. "All I did was take a little walk! Why is that so bad?" Kakashi narrowed his eye. He opened his mouth to yell, but Kaname cut him off. "Since when did you even begin to care about me anyways, huh?" she screamed. "You've never acted like a father, so why start now? You wanna know something? I was fine in the Sand Village! I had Gaara and all my other friends there and you took that from me! You always do! Every time I start making friends and start feeling comfortable, you move me away from everyone else and isolate me in some other unknown village!" A quick, dark chuckle escaped Kaname's lips, her anger getting the better of her. Kaname couldn't even see Kakashi anymore. All she saw was red. She continued, not even caring about what she said anymore.

"Besides, you're not even my _real _dad! Why don't you just leave. Maybe then I can find someone who cares for me and won't crush my opinion's for stupid reasons!"

Kakashi's hands fell from Kaname's shoulders and to his side. He just stood there as Kaname glared daggers up towards him.

The next words that left Kaname's lips stabbed her father through the heart. "I hate you, Kakashi!"

Kakashi stood there, his eyes closed. Then, he clutched his fists into tight balls and walked to the door, slamming it behind him. Kaname heard him stomp down the stairs and open the front door. When the door slammed behind him, the house shook for a moment before going dead silent.

Sitting alone, Kaname's surroundings faded from red and back to reality. Her blue eyes filled with realization as to what she said, and she broke down in tears, not caring about anything except for the hurt in Kakashi's eyes... The hurt she had caused...

-X-

The white haired demon stared in shock at the scene in front of her. She watched as Kakashi slapped Kaname and yelled at her. She saw Kaname fire up and yell some inaudible comebacks to her father, and saw Kakashi's hurt expression. She saw the surprise in his already wounded eyes and saw him leave and walk out of the house slamming the door behind him.

She was shocked. Looking back at Kaname, the girl saw her shaking and crying into her lap. Now she almost felt sorry for Kaname, but she pushed the guilt from her heart and placed her mask back on her face.

"She had it coming..." she mumbled. But Kakashi needed to learn a little something about being _too_ over-protective. Jumping from her hiding spot, she ran off to find Kakashi.

-X-

'Kaname...' Sasuke thought to himself. It was her...? The Uchiha looked up in a daze and looked around at his unfamiliar surrounding.

'Hn, I wonder where I-' He stopped. Looking down at his feet, he smirked sadly. "And this is where you lead me, huh Kana..." Sasuke was standing in front of Kana's old house. Sasuke noticed the lights were on. "Kakashi, huh..." he mumbles to himself. Something caught his eye though. Kana's room was also alight. That meant Kaname was in there. Sasuke's sadness rapidly turned to fury at the thought of another person taking Kana's place in that room. It was her's! Didn't Kakashi have ANY feelings for his old daughter?

Sasuke's heart squeezed slightly at the past tense in that sentence. Old... The raven haired boy turned to leave when he heard muffle screams. Now usually he would have ignored it, but for some reason, he just couldn't.

Slowly, Sasuke made his way around the house and towards the side of the home where Kana's room was. Looking up, Sasuke saw the back of Kaname's head, and a very angry Kakashi's. Sasuke was taken aback. Was that really Kakashi? He would never act like this...

Suddenly, Kaname's head shot up and Sasuke could see she was starting to fight back. He notice how shocked and broken Kakashi looked as she began getting further and further into her rant. Finally, Kaname must have said something to really wound him. Kakashi turned and left. Sasuke knew he was coming outside, so he swiftly hid in the shadows.

After the door slammed shut, Sasuke sighed in relief. But it was automatically sucked back in by the sound of muffled crying. Whipping his head back up to the window, Sasuke saw Kaname shaking and crying. Seeing her like that made his heart sink.

'Why...?' he questioned himself. 'Why do I feel so sad?' Sasuke heard some rustling up above him and quickly hid again. Jumping out of the tree was The ANBU Leader, and she looked angry... Holding his breath, he silently prayed she wouldn't see him. After leaving Her the way he had, she was bound to take her anger out on him. Waiting for what seemed like forever (which was really only 2- 3 seconds), She sprinted off in Kakashi's direction.

Now that it really was quiet, Sasuke could clearly hear Kaname's soft whimpers. Sasuke inwardly cursing himself for how weak he was being. Then, he silently climbed up the tree and onto Kaname's balcony. Sasuke pressed his back against the wall, slowly making his way towards the sliding glass door.

*Click*

Oh, shit!

The glass door slid open and a quietly tearing Kaname stepped out into the cool night air.

-X-

'Damn it! Where the hell did he go?' She had been searching for a while and was getting tired of looking for Hatake's.

"Are you looking for me," someone whispered in her ear. She yelped and span around. Standing behind her with his hands in his pockets was Kakashi looking glum and bored. The ANBU did a quick anime sweat drop. 'God, what is up with him...' Composing herself, she glared at the man.

"As a matter of fact," she said harshly, "I was."

Waiting for some sort of reply, she stood there with her hands crossed over herchest.

Nothing.

Kakashi simply stood there studying her.

And what the Leader did next was totally out of character.

She punched him, sending him flying into a nearby tree. Quickly, she retracted her arm and let it fall sharply next to her hip. Kakashi gasped as he pulled himself out of the trunk. He glared at her.

"What the hell?" he yelled

The demonic girl slowly advanced towards him. "What you did," she stated with an icy tone, "was despicable!" Kakashi lowered his eyes, realizing what she was talking about.

"Yeah," he said, "I'm not a big fan of it myself either..." He stood shakily, hand on his jaw. "You got a mean hook, ya know..."

She glared at him. "Don't try and be funny with me!" She proceeded to grab him by the collar and yank him up to face her. His lazy eye was very acute for once. Tightening her grip, she threw him to the ground and began walking away. At least a yard away, she stopped and turned her head slightly. "When I said to talk to her, I meant lecture, NOT verbal abuse. I wanted you to explain the rules and tell her where she belongs and **my** village." Not waiting for an explanation, the ANBU Leader jumped into the night, leaving Kakashi behind to sort through his problems.

-X-

'Damn it!' he cured. Sasuke tried to hide himself better in the shadows and held his breath. 'She's going to see me for sure!'

But she didn't. Kaname walked right past Sasuke and to the edge of the balcony. Hoisting herself up, the teen sat on the edge and looked up at the starry sky. Sasuke saw the tears still slowly rolling down her face, and it made him feel... sad? No, that couldn't possibly be it. Angry maybe; but not sad!

A tune flowed to his ears. It was Kaname's soft humming.

~Insert part of Shattered by Trading Yesterday~

The soft sound was so... overwhelming. The song was so calm but sad... You could tell those words were her true feelings and this was probably one of the only ways she could let them out. Then the rhythm picked up. Sasuke refocused his attention on her face. Her tears were gone and she looked more confident, but still sad. He continued to listen.

'This song,' he thought, 'reminds me of Kana...' The voice was so similar.

The song slowed and came to an end. "Yesterday I died... Tomorrow's bleeding... I fall into your sunlight..." Kaname finished. Sighing, she looked up at the stars once more. Swinging her feet around, she got off the terries edge and turned to walk to the door. Then she stopped.

'Damn it!'

Kaname was looking straight at him.


	3. Falling Down Can Lead To Marvelous Thing

**Fading Love**

**By:Kaname Hatake**

**~*WARNING*~**

**NEW WRITING STYLE!**

**Recap-**

Sighing, she looked up at the stars. Swinging her feet around, she got off the tries edge. She turned her head to the door and began walking. Then she stopped. "Damn it!" Sasuke inwardly cursed himself, "she's looking straight at me!"

**Chapter 2: Falling Down Can Lead To Marvelous Things**

Sasuke just stood there shocked, as did Kaname. Finally, she snapped back to reality.

"What the hell, Uchiha?" she screamed.

Dropping to the ground, she picked up a small rock and chucked it at him with deadly precision. The rock hit the said Uchiha square between the eyes. Cursing, Sasuke's hand flew up to rub the growing bump. Kaname yelled again.

"What are you DOING here? Haven't you caused enough damage for one day?" This time though, Sasuke didn't waste any time retorting.

"I should be saying the same thing! Why the hell are you in HER room?" Kaname's expression became even more furious.

"'Her room," she screamed, "this is MY room!" As if to prove her point, she pointed to herself and gave an exasperate huff. Sasuke glared at her.

"I don't know who you think you are," Sasuke said with venom seething through his teeth, "but if you even THINK you can waltz in here and start stealing away my last memories of her, your dead wrong. I will kill you if you get in my way, you understand, Hime *princess*?"

Kaname had lost interest in what he was saying a long time ago. When Sasuke looked back up to see her, no one was there. Spinning around, he saw her plop casually down on the bed and pick up a magazine. Anger bubbled in him, making the Uchiha even more furious. Stomping to the door, he was about to yank it open when Kaname stopped him.

"Ya know," she said with a aggravated smirk, "if you come into this room, I could have you arrested for breaking an entry." Glancing up from her magazine, she saw him stop dead in his tracks. 'Got him,' she thought pleasantly.

*SHU~ KANK*

The door slipped open. Kaname was wide eyed. 'What the hell is he doing?' she mentally screamed.

"Well," Sasuke said with a smirk as he stepped inside, "this place hasn't changed much..." Kaname was still gawking at him when he turned to face her.

"Wha-, wait, how, you, but, I thought-!" Kaname couldn't even form a coherent sentence. The Uchiha chuckled darkly.

"What's the matter," he said teasingly, "cat got your tongue?" His eyes were digging into her, making the female squirm uncomfortably.

When Kaname found her voice, it was small and shaky. Her head ache was back and, damn did it hurt like hell this time. "Leave," she said quietly.

"No," Sasuke retorted. "Not until you tell me what 's going on here. Why the hell are you back? What is your purpose here? How-?

Kaname cut him off. "Leave."

"No," Sasuke defied, his tone cold and ruthless. He stood there for a while before Kaname got up and slowly walked over to the last surviving Uchiha. Sasuke didn't speak a word, he just glared at her.

*SLAP*

Sasuke's eyes widened. He was now looking at the wall next to him. Slowly, he brought his hand up to his stinging cheek and turned his head. Kaname's hand still lingered in the air and she was glaring at the floor.

"When I say leave," her voice shook, "you leave."

"H-Hn," Sasuke snorted. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he turned. "Whatever, princess..." He walked out the door leaving a very upset Hatake behind.

-X-

When Kaname woke up, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. There were no other sounds coming from inside the house except her steady breaths, so the young Kunochi inferred that Kakashi wasn't there.

"Guess he never came home last night..." Getting up, Kaname did her usual; hair, teeth, clothes and breakfast.

"Ok," she mumbled, "time for school..."

Stopping at the Entrance of the Konoha Ninja Academy, she sighed.

"Ugh, yet another new educational institution," Kaname groaned under her breath. Entering, she saw she was pretty early so she went and sat under a tree. It had a cute little swing on it too! As she sat there, she watched as people began arriving, and after that got boring, she pulled out her sketchbook.

Flipping to a new page, she thought of what to draw. Normally, people considered her art... weird... They were mostly of people with no faces, landscapes of beautiful meadows, or strange markings... So, Kaname wanted this sketch to be different. It started out as a simple little girl. She had short hair that whisped around her, and a little dress that went to her knees. Her face looked somewhat salome, but her eyes showed fear and worry. In the background was a street, but it was littered with dead bodies.

Blood was everywhere.

Now it was on the little girl.

Behind the child was a man with terrifying eyes!

He had his blade drawn and held it above the girl!

"Um...?" a voice came from above her Kaname didn't hear her. She kept drawing and drawing; fast and furiously.

Sighing, the girl yelled. "HELLOOOOOO?"

Kaname jerked out of her daze and snapped her head up at the girl in front of her. She had long silvery hair with a purple gleam to it that reached to her knees. Her eyes where a piercing crystal blue, and her expression was one of curiosity.

"Uh," Kaname said dumbly, "hi?" The girl chuckled.

"Hi," she said coolly, "what's your name?"

Kaname smiled weakly. "I'm Kaname Hatake..." The girl's face filled with recognition.

"Ohhhh... You're the girl who gave my sister so much trouble last night..."

"Sister?" Kaname thought. "No way!" The girl covered her ears. "You're the ANBU Leaders little sister?"

She chuckled and smirked. "That's what they say." Kaname continuted to stair in awe. "So," the ANBU's sister continued on, "were doing some dueling before class. Wanna join? It's all medical jutsu and stuff... You'd be great at that!"

Kaname's eyes widened. Hold up! How did this girl know she was a medical nin?

"Uh, sure...," Kaname replied. The Girl smiled and glanced down at Kaname's drawing.

"That's a... um... interesting drawing," she stated. Looking down, Kaname's eyes filled with horror. She had done in again! Her cute little girl had been transformed into a monster! Slamming her sketch pad shut, she laughed nervously. The Girl reached her hand out and helped her up. Once she had dusted herself off, the two Kunochi started walking over to a small group of teens.

"OK," The Girl shouted roughly, "were all here! Let's get going!" Kaname stayed silent. "Now," The Girl continued, "who's first to challenge me!"

"God," the lone Hatake thought, "she's so... so... straight forward!"

A guy from the group slowly raised his hand, signaling he would be the girl's first opponent. For a split second, Kaname could have sworn she saw the Kunochi's eyes narrow like a snake with its eyes on its prey, but it was gone in an instant.

Spreading out, everyone formed a large circle, giving the two opponents plenty of room to spar. Someone in the crowd yelled start, and the mach began.

But in that very moment, it was over! The guy took one step towards The Girl, and he was already on his knee's gasping! Someone yelled that The Girl was the winner. Walking over, the winner helped the looser up. He was perfectly fine now! Was this some kind of joke?

"OK," the strange Girl yelled, "who's next?" Everyone took a step back, leaving Kaname in the open field. Looking around, she saw she was now alone and her eyes got big.

"Oh shit," she thought.

"Oh joy, Kaname," The Girl murmured. "Now," she sighed, looking up, "who do you wanna fight?" Kaname let out a sigh of relief, silently thinking, 'Thank god I don't have to fight Her!'

"Um," she glanced over the crowed. "Uh, how about-" Kaname was cut off.

"How about me," a husky voice replied. All the girls in the crowed squealed and moved aside for the male. When Kaname laid eyes on the young Shinobi, she felt her cheek's grow warm. He was so hot! He had dusty blonde hair that was fairly shaggy. His eyes were a cool brown and his skin was perfect! He wore a white T- Shirt with black lining and black shorts and navy blue ninja sandles.

"Ya, Daiske- kun," The Girl muttered. "You get to fight Kaname."

"Daiske, huh," Kaname heard herself murmur. As she walking further into the circle, Daiske pasted her up, leaving behind his scent. Kaname found herself drowning in it! Damn, did he smell... good!

Soon, she was in the middle of the ring with Daiske across from her. Wait... was he... eyeing her? Turning her eyes to the ground, her face became a soft shade of pink.

"Ready?" someone yelled from the crowed. It sounded like the One Girl. Kaname looked up and took a deep breath, and when she locked eye with Daiske, he was no longer this cute guy whom she may have a crush on already, but her enemy who needed to be defeated.

"GO," the Stranger Girl yelled!

And they were off! Daiske ran at Kaname with a raised fist. Making a quick hand seal, she made a clone of herself. The copy of Kaname ran to meet Daiske and the two began fighting.

'Ok,' Kaname thought as she watched the two fights, 'time to gauge how good he really is...' Daiske dropped to the ground and swung his leg around, kicking Kaname's clone's legs out from under her. The force of the impact made the clone disperse. 'Damn it,' Kaname inwardly cursed. Getting into a fighting position, she had just enough time to block his attack to her lower abdomen. 'H-he's fast!' Pushing chakra to her hand, she forced it down upon his upper arm.

"Shit," Daiske cursed. His whole left arm had now gone completely limp. 'Where did she learn that?' Before he had time to think, Kaname appeared in front of him, smiling evilly. Daiske made a hand seal and vanished into thin air right before Kaname's chakra infused fist came in contacts with his jaw.

'What the-?' Just then, she heard something beneath her. Looking down, she earth suddenly cracked and Daiske came shooting up with his fist outstretched. Kaname didn't have time to move before the fist hit her jaw, sending her flying upwards.

"Eya!" she yelled. Hitting the dirt with a thud, she felt something run down the corner of her mouth. Sitting up, she wiped whatever it was away and glared furiously at her opponent. There was no doubt. He was good.

Already, Daiske was running at her. Kaname made a different hand seal this time.

'What now?' Daiske thought annoyed. Throwing a round house kick at her head, he heard the bones crack. Her face held a shocked expression as she fell.

POOF! On the ground where the broken Kunochi should have been was now a log. 'Damn it!' he thought, 'a substitution technique!'

"Well?" a voice called from behind him. Spinning around, he saw Kaname standing at the other side of the damned arena. By now, the crowed had grown ten times as big, and everyone was watching them.

Little did Kaname know that inside that crowed was a very intrigued Uchiha.

'What are they doing?' Sasuke found himself thinking. 'This is a waste of that guy's time. He's going to beat her no problem.' Sasuke watched as Kaname took a deep breath. Slowly letting it out, she snapped her eyes open and glared at Daiske.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Kaname yawned. "This was staring to bore me."

"Well," a sexy voice whispered in her ear, "we wouldn't want that now, would we?" Kaname's eyes widened, spinning around, her stomach rammed right into Daiske's awaiting fist, and before she could hit the ground, his knee slamed into her back.. All her breath burst from her mouth as she toppled over. Kaname lay there motionless on the ground. Lights flashed everywhere! The last thing she remembered was a very concerned looking Daiske hovering above her and the searing pain that ran from her left shoulder all the way down her back.

-X-

Kaname opened her eyes and squinted at the bright sunlight. Her stomach hurt like hell. Remembering how she got here, she bolted forward with a gasp.

"You shouldn't move," a cool voice informed her from beside a tree. Stepping out of the shadows, Kaname saw it was Daiske.

"Oh," Kaname said dumbly as she laid her back against the tree again. She felt so stupid! How could she leave her back open? She had been through this pain before with Kakashi. They had been training and he accidentally punched her there. Because of the scar she got when her family in the mist was killed, that area around and on it was VERY tender. Even the slightest weight on it could make her cringe in pain. Ah... if only she could go back to the time when the ANBU leader had healed it... she could do whatever the hell she wanted and get away with it! But once she left the village, the special effect wore off and left Kaname with THIS. Softly laying her hand on her belly, she sighed.

"So," the emotionless voice continued, "how'd you get that scar?" Kaname flashed a dirty look in his direction. She was flabbergasted. That's not a question you ask someone... You wait for them to tell you!

"Um, I sorry," Kaname spoke, glaring at the boy in the process, "what's your name again?" His eyes narrowed.

"It's Daiske Kyoto," he said in his smooth velvety voice. Kaname's cheeks burned again as she looked away.

"I see... So, uh," Kaname said unevenly, "how old are you?"

"Fifteen," he stated properly.

'Ok,' Kaname thought, 'he's two years older than me...'

"And you?" he questioned out loud.

"I'm Kaname Hatake; thirteen years old," she answered slowly. Smirking, Daiske walked over to her and squatted down.

"Well, Ms. Kaname," he smiled devilishly, "I hope you enjoy what's left of your time here at the Academy."

'Yikes!' Kaname could hear herself screaming, 'he's a little tooooooo close!'

"Y-yeah", you manage to rasp out. Chuckling, he stood up and began walking away; but not before stopping and tilting his head back at you.

"By the way," he said as he tried to hold back a grin, "I wouldn't get those bandages wet!" After seeing Kaname's puzzled look, he DID laugh, and jumped off.

'Bandages? What the hell is he talking about?' Taking her hand off her stomach, she noticed something was off. Her skin felt awfully... ruff? Looking down, Kaname saw her entire chest, all the way down to her waist, was now covered in bandages! Which meant...

Loading- Daisuke had put them on her.

Processing- He was a guy, and he took her shirt off to put the bandages on.

BING- Daiske saw her without a shirt!

Throughout all of Konoha, a terrible sound echoed off the trees. It sounded a lot like a certain auburn haired Kunochi screaming bloody murder...

-X-

When Kaname finally reached the doors to the Academy, they opened reluctantly; it was like they were telling her "Go home, I don't want you here."

"I swear," Kaname mumbled, "the next time I see that perv, his head is going on a platter..."

The doors had lead the young girl into a small hallway with a few doors here and there. The one in front of her was dark blue with a sign saying "Welcome!"

"Ha, yeah right," Kaname found herself thinking. Pulling out her crinkled schedule, she traced her fingers down the names. When she finally found her room number, 192, she started walking aimlessly down the hall. It wasn't until the brunette had circled the same spot twice that she realized she was utterly and completely lost.

"Ah," Kaname screamed, "this is so confusing!" She stomped her foot, making the ground shake a bit. "Why does this school have to be so damn big?"

After a few minutes of mindless muttering under her breath, she heard voices drifting towards from down the hallway. An idea then popped into her head.

"I'll follow the voices and ask where room 192 is." And so Kaname began her journey down the already all-familiar hallway. She was just about to turn the corner when she saw the source of the voices. There stood a really cute boy with raven black hair and another with spiky blonde hair. As she was about to make herself noticed, the boy with black hair spoke.

"You're so weak," he sneered at the other boy. Spiky retorted back. "Oh yeah," he yelled, "well I'm going to be the next Hokoge (leader) of this village, believe it!" Blacky laughed. "Sure you are… a loser and lowlife like you could never do it." Blondie was taken aback. For an instant, I almost thought he was crying.

So, with that, Kaname turned the corner.

"Hey," she yelled! They both looked up, startled. Now that Kaname have a good view of Blondie, she could see he wasn't crying at all; just shaking with anger. And not just that, the Blondie was Naruto! Why hadn't she realized that!

Oh, and did I mention, the black headed boy whom she thought was cute, was THE Uchiha!

"Uh- oh," Kaname said to herself, "what have I just done?"

Sasuke spoke. "What do you want?"

Kaname tack a step back. "Yikes," She screamed in her mind! "What, does he have an ice cube for a heart? Well, I guess I should know that by now, especially after what happened last night..." His cold tone made Kaname mad so she spoke her mind.

"I want you to stop picking on this Naruto," she stated bluntly. Naruto looked up at you with wide blue eyes. Mr. Ice Cube just chuckled to himself.

"Why should I stop picking on Naruto," he questioned, venom dripping off of every word. Kaname was stunned.

"Why, this kid…" she trailed off before she started planning his imminent demise. Kaname took a breath and walk over till she standing in front of Naruto, blocking him from Icy. Kaname jabbed a finger into his chest.

"I mean it, stop this or else," she threatened. Naruto stood up.

"Yeah Sasuke," he yelled, "quit it or you'll get it!" Kaname rolled my eyes at his sad attempt of a comeback and looked back at Sasuke.

"Whatever," he mumbled. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away. Just as Kaname was about to yell at the ass hole for just walking away, Naruto jumped on her, thanking Kaname over and over.

"H-Hey," she screamed as she tried to push the hyper- active baka *idiot* away, "stop it!"

Naruto jumped off and gave Kaname his big foxy grin. Kaname smiled back a little. I mean, come on! Who could stay mad at him! Then she remembered.

"Uh, Naruto, do you know where room 192 is?" Naruto blinked once then laughed.

"Yeah, I'm that class too!" Naruto and Kaname walked black down the hallway chatting about what she had missed over the years. Soon, they stopped right in front of a blue door with a sign that said "Welcome!"

Kaname just stared at the door. "Well," she finally said, "this is embarrassing…" So all in all, she had been right where she had needed to be the whole time. They walked in the class room together and seated themselves. For some reason, she subconsciously found a seat near the window. It... Reminded her of something, but what? Letting her fingers lightly graze the desk, she saw a flash of something in her mind. Quickly, she trying to grasp it before it faded, but with no luck. That familiar since of déjà vu was gone now, so with a sigh, Kaname seated herself. She placed her chin in her hand and gazed outside at the beautiful scenery.

"Eh- hem," she heard an emotionless voice cough next to her. Turning her head slightly, she saw Sasuke standing over her.

"Yes?" Kaname asked in a monotone voice.

Sasuke sighed. He really would rather not fight with this idiot right now. But she WAS in his seat...

"You're in my seat, Hatake," he stated bluntly. 'And please,' he silently begged, 'don't make this difficult!' Blinking, Kaname gathered her stuff and stood up.

"Why am I moving for HIME*princess*," she wondered? But before she could move, her foot caught on a piece of loose floorboard.

Clumsily, Kaname tripped over her own feet. Falling forwards, she reached out to grab SOMETHING that would brace her from her fall. Grabbing a handful of some soft material, she fell.

"Ette... *oww...*," she groaned. Wait a second... was there an... echo to her ow? Opening her eyes, she saw a very pissed off Uchiha underneath her. Not only that, but there was a dead silence in the room. Scanning the room, all the girls looked like they were going to KILL her, and the guys looked like they were scared for her life!

"Get off," his voice sounded from beneath the terrified Kunochi.

"Oh!" was all Kaname said. She was off in a split second.

"Are you going to help me up?" Sasuke was sitting up on the ground with an annoyed expression plastered on his face. Kaname looked at him like he had two heads. Like hell she would! What did that Uchiha think she was, his maid? But, she knew she had to be the bigger person...

Shoving her hand out, Sasuke was just about to take it when a ton of his super obsessed fan girls ran over her to help him up. Losing her balance again, she clumsily flipping over the table, landing right on top of a fluffy blonde head; Naruto's. He was laughing so hard. Kaname smiled as she sat up in his lap and soon, she realized what he was laughing at!

Sasuke was being mauled! Slowly, her smile became a grin, which came with a suppressed chuckle, that transformed into a full out giggle fit, that in turn became hysterical laughter!

While Sasuke was warding off the monsters, he heard Kaname laughing. Turning, he got up and glared at her with pure hate. She immediately shut up, but still had a grin on her face.


	4. The Ups and Downs of Being New

**Fading Love**

**By: Kaname Hatake**

**~*WARNING*~**

**REMEMBER- NEW WRITING STYLE!**

**Recap-**

Losing her balance, she clumsily flipping over the table, landing right on top of a fluffy blonde head; Naruto's. He was laughing so hard! Kaname smiled as she sat up in his lap and soon, she realized what he was laughing at! Sasuke was being mauled! Slowly, her smile became a grin, which came with a suppressed chuckle, that transformed into a full out giggle fit, that in turn became hysterical laughter!

While Sasuke was warding off the monsters, he heard Kaname laughing. Turning, he got up and glared at her with pure hatred. She immediately shut up, but still had a grin on her face.

**Chapter 3: The Ups and Downs of Being New**

Kaname chatted with Naruto while they rest of the class talked with their friends. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Kaname glanced upwards to meet golden brown eyes; Daiske's brown eyes.

"Um," Kaname hummed mindlessly, "do you need something?" Daiske looked like there was a battle ragging in his mind. His face was strained and almost looked pained. Quickly and suddenly, he bent down, bowing at Kaname. Staying this way, he began talking.

"I'm very sorry about this morning," he rambled. Blushing, Kaname nodded.

"It's, uh, ok?" she answered questionably. Daiske continued, still bowing.

"Also, when I bandaged you-," he was cut off. Kaname grabbed his head and pulled him close with a hand clamped tightly over his mouth. Glaring at him, she said, "Do NOT finish that sentence." Kaname was blushing insanely!

'This guy was just about to reveal to the entire class that he saw me with no shirt! What is he, an idiot?' she thought madly.

Blinking, she let go of him. While gasping in lung full of air, he rubbed his jaw.

"Damn, I was just trying to apologize," he muttered as he walked to his seat. Instantaneously, all of Sasuke's fan girls divided in half. One half stayed with the Uchi_**ass**_, and the other went to Daiske.

'Wow,' Kaname thought, 'that's just sad.'

After a few mindless minutes of talking, the door slid open. Everyone got quiet and turned all their attention towards the door. Even Sasuke's fan girls stopped fighting! Glancing over her shoulder at the frame, Kaname saw Her walk into the class room. She had a pissed off look in her eyes.

'Yikes,' Kaname helplessly thought, 'I wonder who pissed her off?' She watched as the mystery girl walked straight to the isle and up, past her, past Naruto, and to the crowd of fan girls. Putting her hands together like she was about to dive into a deep pool that is fan girls, she pulled them apart. All the girls stepped out of her way creating a straight path to Sasuke. Walking through, she stopped right in front of the said Uchiha.

"Can I sit here?" Her question sounded more like a command to Kaname. Sasuke closed his eyes.

"Sure," he said in a cool tone. All the girls squealed in horror before going to their seats, defeated.

"She ALWAYS sits with Sasuke- kun," Kaname heard one girl whine.

"Yeah," another continued, "what's so great about that bitch anyways?"

"Who knows," the first girl replied.

'So she sits with him every day, huh.' Kaname's wheels were turning. 'I guess the Uchiha isn't completely heartless if he can be civilized with a girl.' The door slid open again, but this time a man stepped through it. He had his hair pulled up into a spiky pony, and a scar ran across his long nose. His headband bore the leaf symbol and he wore a jounin jacket. Stepping in front of his desk, he tuned and gave his students a big smile.

"Hello class! How is everyone today?" Kaname, along with the rest of the class, replied with a unison 'fine'. He smiled.

"Well, in case no one has noticed, we have a new student starting today." Kaname could feel everyone's eyes on her and most of them gave her death glares that dug into her back. "Kaname," the sensei noted, looking down at the transcript, "please come down and introduce yourself. Tell everyone you're... likes and dislikes, yeah." He kept his eyes on the paper as Kaname slowly scooted out of her seat and descended down the stairs. Only once she had reached the bottom did the Sensei glance down at her. Yet, the second he saw Kaname, his eyes got real big. She could see disbelief, horror and happiness dance in his large brown orbs.

'Why does everyone have this reaction when they first meet me?' Kaname yelled in her head.

Clearing his throat, the sensei regained his composer and looked back at the class. "Everyone," he squeaked, "say hello to Kaname Hatake."

The class muttered a soft and dysfunctional 'hello'. Kaname smiled weakly.

"Hi mean- san *everyone*, I'm Kaname Hatake." Glancing at her teacher, he nodded for her to continue. "Uh," she began, "I like to draw, sing, dance and train." Kaname paused to think of her hates. There were WAY too many. "Let's see... I hate mornings but only because I'm grumpy, I hate secrets, lying, the sight of blood (Kelly: I really do!), and," Kaname paused, "Sasuke and Daiske." The entire room seemed to move in slow motion. Both Sasuke and Daiske's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets! The One Girl smiled demonically, and the fan girls, well, let's just say they all had their kunais out now. Iruka laughed nervously as he patted Kaname on the head.

"That was, uh, very good Ms. Hatake." His smile worried her. Pointing at her seat, he told her to sit back down. As she climbed the stairs, she heard the whispers.

"That slut hates our Sasuke and Daiske?" one muttered to her blonde friend. The blond responded.

"I know! She needs to learn her place here!" The brunette agreed.

Kaname listened to all the other comments being spat at her and didn't even notice the foot purposely lingering in the stairway. With a gasp, she tripped over it and fell with a thud. The entire class laughed, minus Sasuke, Daiske, the One Girl, Naruto, and a few others. Getting up shakily, she winced as she put pressure on her foot. Her ankle was rapidly swelling and there was a gash on her inner right hand.

Wait. Gash?

Slowly but surely, Kaname saw the red liquid ooze out of the cut and drip off her hand, leaving a searing red path behind. The class continued to howl with laughter as they saw the mortified look on the young Kunochi's face. All the laughter seemed to be drowning into one voice. And then, everything went dark.

Kaname knew she was still awake. It's like when you stand up to fast; all the blood rushes to your head and makes you dizzy and your eye sight disappears for a second. The demonic chortles of her classmates still echoed in her ears along with the pounding of her heart. Out of nowhere, she heard a man's voice slice through the agony; yet that cold shrill voice only brought more.

"Weak," it said with no emotion. "You are weak; you will never be able to fend for yourself." Kaname was gasping for air. She felt like the whole room was closing in on her! She was shaking, so badly. But it was mostly her shoulder.

"Kaname!" the voice yelled. "Kaname!"

Slowly, the voice changed from the menacing man's to an annoying Sasuke's. Snapping her eyes open, she came face to face with said boy who was currently shaking her shoulder. Her reflection looked extremely pale in his dark orbs.

"S-Sasuke?" she muttered. Then the room seemed to tilt and she collapsed right into his awkward arms.

"Oi!" he yelled. Iruka- Sensei hovered over Sasuke and examined Kaname's injuries.

"Take her to the infirmary," he instructed. Sasuke nodded and stood up carrying Kaname awkwardly in his arms. With a sigh, he headed out. Looking behind him though, he saw Her glaring at him through narrowed eyes.

'Shit,' he thought, 'I'm gonna get hell when I get back.'

As he somehow managed to close the door, he heard Iruka yell "OK, who the hell did that [tripped Kaname]?" Sighing, he shifted Kaname onto his back and began his journey to the nurse.

"_What… happened?"_ Kaname wondered as unconsciousness seeped through her limp body.

"**Well,"** a chipper voice replied, "**you passed out right on top of the Uchiha.**" Strangely, this sudden voice sounded an awful lot like her own.

"_What?"_ she managed to think through her haze.

"**Yah,"** it continued, **"and it was perfect timing too! He looked so worried... Odd, right?"** Kaname managed a soft, dark chuckle.

"_Him, worried? Naw, that's impossible for Mr. Ice Cube here…"_ she mentally pointed at the back of Sasuke's spiky black head.

"**Really?"** the voice argued. Now it was getting annoying.

"_OK,"_ Kaname thought angrily, _"who are you again?"_ The voice giggled.

"**I'm you silly! I'm your Inner Self." **

Kaname listened to the voice like it was an idiot.

"**I'm the part of you that knows right from wrong and what you're true feelings are. In other words, I'm the person you want to be but don't have the guts to be."**

Well, this was interesting. _"So,"_ Kaname thought stunned, _"you're me?"_ Her Inner grinned.

"**Yup. Oh, and you better wake up soon; looks like the Uchiha is at the nurses."**

"_No!"_ Kaname yelled mentally. _"Get back here! I'm not done talking to you, I mean, me! I mean, ugh! Just come back here!" _There was silence. Frustrated and thoroughly confused, Kaname slowly opened her heavy eyes.

"Nngh," she moaned as the sun hit her sleepy blue orbs. Being bounced up a bit woke the Hatake even more and made her realize she was being hoisted up on someone's back; Sasuke's back. "Eh?" she screamed as she wailed her arms around, causing her to almost fall off. Luckily, Sasuke had a tight grip on her, so she was just jerked right back against his back.

"So you're finally awake," Sasuke huffed as he lugged Kaname through the double doors. Kaname glared at the back of his spiky head.

"Very observant," she stated sarcastically. "They weren't kidding when they said you were extremely intelligent." She could feel Sasuke tension and knew she was striking a nerve somewhere in his non- existent heart. Sighing, she laid her head on his back. She was exhausted and just didn't have the energy to fight with a wall.

The office was exactly as she had expected, white, cheery, and full of fake smiles. Ugh… great. Sitting in the hospital bed was boring to say the least. The nurse came in to check on Kaname after a while and checked for dizziness, for the fifth goddamned time might she add, and then FINALLY released her.

Walking was such a relief to Kaname's tired limbs. Her ankle still throbbed slightly with each step, but hey it could be worse. Stretching, she began walking back to the academy.

"Where do you think you're going?" a cold voice called out. The Kunochi stopped in her tracks and turned her head to meet the dead gaze of That Girl. Her white hair was in a teased side braid now and her icy eyes flashed with hate.

"Uh," Kaname stuttered as she took an unknowing step backwards to distance herself from the girl, "back to the academy?" She laughed.

"Schools out Hatake." Kaname looked around for a clock. When she saw once, she realized The Girl was right.

"Oh!" Kaname squeaked. "Look at the time!" She laughed nervously. "Well, guess I should get going now…"

"To what?" she questioned. Kaname froze. "I thought you "hated" Kakashi." Kaname stood there like a deer in the headlights. That Girl smirked. "I thought he ruined your life." The peanut buttered haired girl shook. How the hell did she know ablaut last night?

"I… Um… where did you hear that…?" she asked quietly. She smirked.

"Sasuke and I are _really_ close… We share everything." Kaname's eyes showed hurt.

'How could he tell her that…?' Kaname cried. 'Even if he is a bastard, I didn't expect him to go blabbing it to the world!' Kaname spun on her heel and began walking away. As she furthered herself from Her, The Girl laughed.

"You can't get away, Kaname. I'll always be two steps ahead." And with that, The Girl retreated, satisfied with her day's work.

Never in her life had she been so upset. Kaname's walk home ended up being a sprint for comfort. She needed to be alone, but at the same time, she needed to be with someone.

"I can't stand this," she whispered as she slumped down next to a tree. Life was always like this. Move, new school, new enemies, no friends, hated. It was the same cycle every time. "Someone," she muttered, putting her head in her arms, "help me…" As if on cue, a soft voice replied to her plea.

"Are you ok?" it whispered. Kaname tore her head up and looked shocked at the person in front of her. A girl with soft brown hair that was pulled up into a side pony tail now stood before the teen. She wore a simple pink hod die and ninja legging's. She also wore a half like skirt around her waist. had three pins on the left shoulder. Along with her elbow length gloved hand, Kaname automatically got the vibe that she was friendly.

"Um," Kaname stuttered, "I… yeah." She stated in disbelief. The girl frowned.

"You don't look like you are," she sighed as she walked calmly over towards Kaname. The stranger sat down next to Kaname on the other end of the tree. "You're new here, aren't you?" she questioned. Kaname answered with a small 'yes'. The strange girl laughed. "I see!" She turned to look at Kaname and smiled. "I'm Aya by the way. And you?" Aya placed her hand in front of Kaname. She took it and shook it carefully.

"I'm Kaname," said girl muttered, confused. 'Why is she talking to me?' Then it clicked in her head. She was in Kaname's class! She was one of the students who looked worried when she fell... Kaname was truly speechless.

"Ah!" the girl smiled with realization. "That's right! You're in my class!" she chirped. Kaname smiled small.

"Yeah…" Then Aya stood up and dusted herself off.

"Come on!" she yelled behind her when she noticed Kaname hadn't followed her. With a questionable glance at the ninja, she got up and followed.

"Um, Aya- san—"she was interrupted.

"Call me Aya or Aya- chan!" she smirked. "- san makes me feel old." Kaname giggled.

"Ok, Aya- Chan, where are we going?" Said girl smiled deviously.

"Were going to Ichuraku Ramen! I'm going to introduce you to my friends!" Kaname gaped at the girl. None the less, she followed.

Little did they know, the friendship that had sparked would turmoil into many others.

~x~

The sky seemed to glow above the two friends as they journeyed towards the Ramen shop. Aya did most of the talking. She asked Kaname about moving, her old friends, and she even asked if she was okay after her embarrassing fall. All of the questions, Kaname answered as shortly as possible. It wasn't intentional, trust me. Kaname wanted to talk to her. It was just the fact that she was, well, kinda nervous. When she moved here from the sand country, she had to leave Gaara and Temari and Kankuro behind. They had really been her only friends. Maybe, just maybe, here she could have a friendship like they had shared.

"Kaname-chan?" Kaname snapped out of her thoughts and smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, Gomen Aya- chan," she apologized. Aya grinned.

"It's fine! I just wanted you to know, if you ever need someone to talk with, I'm always here for you!" Kaname giggled.

"Thank you… You know what," she stated, "I'm really glad That Girl confronted me at the hospital!" Aya tried to look like she knew what the hell Kaname was talking about, but her confused glance gave her away. Kaname filled her in on what happened and Aya grimaced.

"Yeah, that sounds like Her…" she sighed.

"So she's always been like this?" the brunette asked aloud. Aya nodded.

"Yup, no one ever knows why… And she's so protective of her "Fragile Uchiha!" The two girls laughed. Kaname liked Aya. She was funny and sure of herself, and she was so nice, not to mention pretty. The way the sun cast off her skin made her look like a god.

"Were here!" the Kunoichi sang and Kaname looked up at the stand. The lantern was lit and a friendly aroma took her back in time. Kaname's eyes widened as, once again, a could-have-been memory flew past her. Deeply sadden, she walked into the shop with her new friend.

It was crowded! Kaname wondered how everyone fit in there!

"I'm here, guys!" Aya grinned. Everyone turned their heads towards the new voice.

"Aya- chan!" a boy with a bowl hair cut yelled, waving his hand in the air.

"Ay'…" a boy with pinapple hair yawned.

"Afya!" another boy tried to yell, but failed because of the amount of Ramen stuffed into his mouth.

"Aya!" Chouji yelled.

"Hey all!" she replied to them. Naruto managed to swallow his ramen and look over at the pair. Then he saw Kaname awkwardly standing there.

"Kaname!" he pounced. Naruto "glomp'ed" her and she yelped in surprise.

"N-Naruto!" she yelled. "Please! Were in public!" The blonde got off… after being hit over the head… multiple times.

"Mena! *everyone* This is my new friend Kaname!" Aya announced. Kaname smiled.

"Hey guys." Somehow, she already felt at home with them. They seemed like her type of people. Kaname didn't know why, but she was…drawn to them… Taking a seat between Naruto and Aya, the order went like this from left to right.

Naruto, Kaname, Aya, a boy named Lee, who seemed to have a strange fascination with the word 'youthful', Shikamaru, who seemed to be very... lazy, and a boy named Choji, who loved to eat.

"So, Kaname- san," Aya asked, "you're Kakashi- san's daughter?" Kaname nodded.

"Hai," she shyly replied. Aya smiled.

"Yeah, Kaka is nice… I remember when he used to life here a while back… Of course, I was only 9 then!" Kaname and Aya laughed.

"Such a youthful sound!" Lee yelled.

"Lee- kun, you're so loud!" Aya chuckled and Lee smiled at her.

"Ah, gomen ne, my Aya!" the group continued to talk amongst themselves before Shikamaru turned his attention to Kaname.

"So Kaname," he questioned, "how's your ankle?"

"Oh!" the brunette squeaked. "It's fine! It was just a little twist!" The lazy boy nodded and looked at her hand.

"Ya know if you hate blood so much, why the hell do you want to be a ninja?" Shikamaru's gaze was still on her injured hand. Kaname was surprised by the question.

"Uh, um.. I… I have no clue." She sighed in defeat. "I quess it's all i've known..."

"Skika-baka, stop interrogating the newbie!" Kaname giggled at Aya's outburst and slurped at her ramen.

After chatting with everyone, the teen realized how dark the little restaurant had gotten.

"It's really late," Kaname muttered. Reaching into her pocket, she took out some yen and gave it to the cheif. "Thank you for inviting me! I had a lot of fun!" Aya grinned.

"Good! Cause from now on, we're meeting here every day!" The Hatake laughed.

"Ok! Sound good to me! I hope we can get to know each other better Aya! You're really nice and funny!"

Aya smirked. "Oh hell yes I am!" After the rest of her goodbyes, the lone girl fled home.

-X-

The house was dark when she opened the door which could only mean one thing. Kakashi was gone still…

"Kakashi…" she muttered gloomily as she reached for the light switch. Right as she was about to flip it on, she decided the darkness fit her suddenly depressing mood better. With yet another heavy sigh, she trudged upstairs into her room.

Kaname landed tiredly on her bed.

"Well," she breathed, "today was very interesting… I made a bunch of friends, which is uncommon for me, I started school and injured myself on the first day, I have a bunch of Sasuke and Daiske fan girls who want to kill me, and That Girl wants me dead… I think…" Kaname tiredly turned onto her stomach and clutched her fluffy pillow to her chest.

"Sasuke Uchiha, huh…" A breeze shook through her open window as she closed her heavy lids. Sleep overtook her.

And the nightmares began.

Not surprisingly, Kaname woke at around three A.M. gasping for air. Her nightmares were getting worse and worse. The frightened 12 year old put her burning head against her freezing, shaking hands.

"What am I going to do?" she moaned. "I can't take these... these dreams, no, nightmares anymore!" The wind blew fiercely all of the sudden and an icy wind wiped at her hot body.

"Still up, huh?"

Kaname whipped her body to face the open window. The Girl sat there, twirling her long white hair in her fingers.

"You!" Kaname gasped. "What do you want now? How do you know where I live?" The white haired demon just chuckled as she jumped gracefully into the room.

"My sister is ANBU Leader, remember? I know everything…" She smirked. "So," she breathed, "where's your dad?"

Kaname glared at her. "He's not home right now." The Girl chuckled.

"Not home? Oh, that's right!" The teen's icy eyes bored into Kaname's lowered head. "You two had a little fight didn't you…!"

Kaname growled. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" The wolf snickered.

"No, I won't. Not till I'm done with you." She walked over to the angered Hatake and leaned down to her ear. She laughed. "Aw… did I make the new girl angry?" Her tone way childish, like she was talking to a baby.

That was it. Kaname curled her hand into a fist and drove it towards the girl, but when it should have made contact, it met air. The next thing she knew, Kaname was being pinned to the wall, her arm twisted painfully behind her back.

"You've got nerve, I'll give you that much." The Girl stated in a harsh manner. She yanked Kaname's arm up a bit more causing her to yelp in pain before throwing her to the ground. Kaname peered up at the person standing over her. "I don't get it…." That Girl sighed in an almost annoyed tone. "Why would my sister save a brat like you all those years ago? You're nothing important." Kaname's eyes stung with tears. "And Kakashi… What was he thinking! You're a failure to him! You've probably just been bringing him down this whole time, you burden!" The injured Kunoichi's eyes fell to the floor.

"I…" she began. Truthfully, Kaname had no idea what to say. She had asked herself this question every single day and had never been able to find an answer. After what felt like ages, Kaname spoke. "You have no right to barge into my home and do this. I don't care if your sister IS the fucking ANBU leader… I want you out, and I WILL use force." She laughed.

"You? Force me? That's almost funny!" Her laughing died down when she saw Kaname's glare. "Hn. Whatever." Casually, she walked to the window and jumped onto the ledge in a crouching position. She looked back at the Hatake who was now standing up, rubbing her sore arm. "Weak…" she muttered with a dark chuckle before jumping into the night.

-X-

Kaname yawned as she sat in her seat at the academy. She had dark bags under her eyes, and her hair looked dull. Her skin was pale and her aura was depressing. Last night sure took a toll on her…

After the incident, Kaname wasn't able to get back to sleep. So instead, she went downstairs and made herself some raspberries with a little sugar on it. Raspberries where Kaname's favorite fruit and they always seemed to make her feel better. Then, she sat down on the couch and turned on the TV and flipped through the channels. Before she knew it, the sun was up. Her shower was quick as was her breakfast of toast and some sushi. Then, she was off to the academy.

Now, if this day wasn't bad enough, it was getting worse. Today, everyone was being placed on their teams.

"Oi..." Kaname sighed as she laid her head in her arms. "I HATE this…"

"Hate what?"

Kaname looked up to see Aya standing over her with a smile.

"Hi Aya…" the teen mumbled. The girl frowned.

"Someone's in a bad mood…" she grumbled. Kaname laughed a bit.

"I had a… long night." Aya nodded, understanding.

"Ya… we all have those every now and again…"

Kaname loved how Aya was so understanding. She didn't push or nag like others. Hearing the door slide open, Kaname glanced over to see Daiske and Sasuke walk in, both glaring at each other. Kaname couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Those two don't get along well, do they?" Aya giggled.

"Not at all! They hate each other! It's pretty funny really…" The two chuckled.

When Iruka- sensei walked in, Kaname said goodbye to her friend and turned her attention to the front of the room.

"I'm glad to see all my students past the test!" the sensei grinned. Everyone cheered and grinned.

'Test?' Kaname thought to herself. 'What test?' Panicked, Kaname went into a little chibi mode. "Ano.. Iruka-sensei?" Kaname muttered. Iruka looked up at Kaname.

"Yes?" The girl gulped.

"I… uh… never took a test… I wasn't informed that there was one…" The whole class burst out laughing. A humiliated blush scurried onto the brunettes face.

The teacher looked at her for a moment. "You didn't take the test? Well… why don't you go into the hall and take it now? I'll be out in a moment." Kaname stood from her seat and descended the steps.

"Wait." A voice called. Kaname froze and whipped around. That girl stood up from her spot next to Sasuke and glared at Iruka. "Why not just do it here in front of all of us. We need a good laugh anyways." Again, everyone roared with laughter. Iruka smiled nervously.

"Ms… I don't think so. I'm just going to—"

"I'll do it."

Everyone went silent. Kaname stood defiant and glaring at Her. Obviously, She hadn't been expecting this, for a look of surprise ran across the white headed woman's slender face. The lone Hatake smirked.

"I'll do it in front of the class. It's no problem at all." Iruka sighed.

"Have it your way. You need to make a clone of yourself in order to pass. You also must perform one high level jutsu." Kaname nodded.

"Hai…" Putting her hand in a seal formation, she summoned some chakra. "Henge!" she yelled. A burst of smoke a came forth. Once it cleared, you could see three perfect replica's of Kaname standing next to her, all in a fighting position. But they were not just dummies, they were solid figured.

"Very good!" Iruka praised. "None less from Kakashi's daughter!" Kaname smiled softly while That Girl growled.

Next, Kaname was to do a jutsu. She thought for a moment before smiling. Doing some more hand signs, she yelled. "Kaiton: Heinekko no Jutsu!"

In the palm of her hand, a little cat made of fire danced around. Everyone gasped in enjoyment.

Iruka then spoke. "That's very nice, but who would this help in a fight?" Kaname motioned for someone to open the window. Once that was done, she walked to it and let the little fire cat jump out into the sunny afternoon. It ran a little ways away from the school, leaving tiny black char prints in its dust.

Suddenly, it grew to the size of the school and shot fire into the warm summer air. The students screamed, afraid it would hit the school. Kaname just sighed and let go of her chakra, which made the jutsu cancel. Iruka laughed.

"Ok! That's perfect! You pass Kaname!" Smirking up at the white haired girl with a tilt of her head, she walked back to her seat.

"What an ass," that girl muttered to Sasuke. He said nothing.

"That… jutsu…!" he said, wide eyed. "That's... Kana's!"

FLASHBACK

_Kana did a back flip and landed in the fighting position. Her eyes glared in anger and she could feel chakra running through her hungry veins. If filled her up with energy. Kana felt stronger. Doing some hand signs, she yelled._

"_Kaiton: Heinekko no Jutsu! (Fire Element: Ash Cat no Jutsu!) A ring of fire surrounded her hand and formed a small cat before it grew._ _"Attack!" she yelled as she pointed at Itachi. The fire cat went soaring towards Itachi and nailed him to the floor. "Now, fire ball!" A humongous fire ball shot from its mouth and hit Itachi right on._

Sasuke shook as he glared at the back of Kaname's head.

The last time he saw the Jutsu was when he had witnessed Kana and Itachi's battle… the battle that killed her.

"Damn that Kakashi...," he murmured under his breather. "teaching her that juts... what the hell is his deal?"

As Iruka began listing the team names, Sasuke couldn't help but clench his fist in frustration. What was it about this girl that made him so… confused? He didn't know, but he would find out.

"Team 7!" Iruka called out. "When I call your name, please come up to the front and receive your headbands. Daiske Kyoto!" Sasuke watched as Daiske stood up and casually hopped the desk and took his headband, which was navy blue. All the girls squealed when he gave thumbs up to the crowded classroom.

'Ugh, that kid annoys me more than Sakura!' the last Uchiha moaned as he put his head in his hand. But his moment of peace was short lived.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke looked up. Iruka grinned at him and held a headband in his hand.

"No way…!" Sasuke muttered as he stood horrified. He was on a team with that womanizer? Fuck no! The raven swooped smoothly down the steps and stood next to the Kyoto.

"Nice to be teammates with you," Daiske smiled. Sasuke glared at the man.

"Next," Iruka chuckled… "Umm… It's you." Everyone gave each other a confused glance. "Uh, her, Ms… Anoo… White hair? Blue eyes?" Everyone then nodded and looked at The Girl with No Name. She blinked and was suddenly next to Iruka, her hand outstretched to receive her band. With a sigh, Iruka smiled and handed her a purple Konoha protector.

"Lastly," the sensei stated, "we have a special addition. This team will have an extra member. Kaname Hatake? Will you please step fourth?" The blue eyed teen blinked in confusion.

"Me?" she questioned. Iruka nodded.

"Hai." Kaname warily walked the stairs to the sensei and received her red medic ninja headband. Life from now on would be… interesting.


	5. I'm On a Team with WHO?

**Fading Love**

**By: Kaname Hatake**

**Recap-**

"Lastly," the sensei stated, "we have a special addition. This team will have an extra member. Kaname Hatake? Will you please step fourth?" The blue eyed teen blinked in confusion.

"Me?" she questioned. Iruka nodded.

"Hai." Kaname warily walked the stairs to the sensei and received her red medic ninja headband. Life from now on would be… interesting.

**Chapter 4: ****I'm On a Team with Sr. Cockatoo, Mr. Ego, and Mrs. Icy- Hot… Great.**

++Reality hadn't hit Kaname until she found herself being shaken by Aya.

"Hellooooo? Kaname? Snap outta it!" Aya yelled, snapping her fingers in front of the Hatake's eyes. When there was no response, she made a small gasp. "I think she's in shock!" Her voice was dripping with false surprise, but still, no response. Aya sighed. "Look, it can't be worse than my team! I'm with Lee and Neji along with our strange Sensei, Might- Guy." Aya laughed when Kaname just slumped lower. Then, something hit her. getting a dark smile on her face, Aya did the unexpected. Lowering her voice, she leaned down to the stunned teen and whispered, "Hn… Baka…" It was a perfect replica of Sasuke's voice.

"ACK!" Kaname yelped, covering her ears with her hands, her eyes screwed shut. "No! Go away, go away! Ass hole!" Kaname continued to whimper. It wasn't until she heard Aya's suppressed laughter that she looked up to see her friend, not Sasuke.

"He." She said, still in SASUKE Mode.

"Aya," Kaname shook, anime tears running down her face, "you're cruel." Aya simply stuck her tongue out and gave her friend the piece sign.

"But really," the brunette with the signal strip of pink sighed, "it's really not THAT bad…"

Kaname laughed dully. "Not that bad, eh? It's just Sasuke. He irks me to no end. And then there's his ego problem! He thinks he's superior to everyone!"

"He is…" Aya muttered. She was in a headlock a moment later.

"Nani? I didn't quite catch that!" Kaname growled.

"It's… nothing!"

Aya laughed and then stopped.

"Hey, She's waiting for me over there, so I'll catch up with you two later, ok?" Aya was also best friends with That Girl; lord knows how someone as nice as her can be friends with someone as cold hearted as the White Haired Demon… Kaname smiled softly and waved goodbye as Aya ran off to meet Her.

-X-

Aya followed the path along the road a bit more to meet her best friend.

"Yo!" she greeted. The Girl merely inclined her head a bit.

"Any thing new?" The demon questioned. Aya's happy façade fell and went into stone.

"No, nothing new… Seriously, the girls too dumb to know anything." Aya chuckled darkly as the girl smirked.

"Good," she said, leaning back against the tree, "let's keep it that way." Aya smiled.

"No problem." Self consciously though, the teen wondered what the big secret was that The Girl was trying to keep from Kaname.

From what She had told her, it had to do with her memory lose. Anytime Kaname seemed like she had remembered something about her past or was close to, the eldest Sarutobi was to tell Her and have it taken care of. For whatever reason, Kaname's past had been a bloody one, one that should stay hidden in the depths of the snow forever.

Coming back to reality, Aya realized She was stairing at her… with a smirk… shit, this can't be good.

"What?" she innocently asked.

"Nothing really…" The Girl sighed as she pushed herself off the tree. "We'll be in touch." Faintly, Aya caught the white haired girl smile at her. Now that is rare! Something was going on.

"What's with the smile?"

"I'm not allowed to smile?"

"Well… I guess you are, but you always have a reason!"

"Maybe it's cause you're my best friend."

"I'm your ONLY friend!"

"Not true, I have Sasuke too."

"He practically OWNS you."

She sighed and sauntered over to the brunette.

"He doesn't own me, I just… I can't refuse him, okay?" Aya laughed.

"Okay, okay… you win." The girl smiled again and patted Aya on the head. Aya was a special friend. They had met when they were about eight, and they had become inseparable. I guess that was only possible because it was before the Uchiha massacre; before She turned her heart to ice. Aya was the eldest daughter to Sarutobi Asuma, followed by her sister Kaitlyn. Aya was pretty sweet to strangers, but the people who knew her know otherwise. Aya was a little devil in angel wings!

"That's a good bunny! Now, go get me more information!"

"Rodger!" Aya chirped.

As Aya wondered off to spy on Kaname, the wolf demons smile dropped.

"Why couldn't she have believed that I was smiling for her?"

Is it really so hard to think that no matter how cold she acted, she was still human? I guess we'll never know.

~x~

The next three weeks flew by. Team 7 went through ruff training via Kakashi. He had never taken a student other than Kaname, so he didn't go easy on the others. That Girl barely broke a sweat, and Sasuke and Daiske were toe to toe in everything, constantly bickering and attempting to beat each other, much like Naruto and Sasuke.  
Now, Kaname was a different story. Each day seemed so much harder than the other. She barely got any sleep, and practically needed an ice bath after every session. By far, she was the _worst_ on the team! If only she could just apologize to Kakashi and maybe have him help her with all the ludicrous exercise! But no! Whenever she thought about it, her stupid, stupid inner would tell her that he should be apologizing to her! Gah!

Groggily, the teen opened her eyes and peeled off her covers. Her head hung low as she stumbled into the bathroom.

"Good morning…" a low voice muttered in her ear. A kiss was quickly placed on the orangey-brown haired girl's cheek before she had time to register.

"Ah! Daiske!" she screeched. She clawed at her cheek as she punched the brown head out the door.

"Oi!" he yelled. "What the hell!"

Kaname's back was against the cool door as she attempted to cool her flustered face. "That's my line!" she retorted. "What the heck are you doing in my house, no, my room!" Kaname heard a shuffle of feet from behind the door before Daiske's soft voice replied.

"I, uh, Kakashi- Sensei asked me to make sure you were up. Sasuke and the other girl are downstairs too. We have our first real mission today." His voice got a little bit excited at his last declaration. Kaname smirked.

"Really?"

"Ya! So hurry up!"

Kaname didn't have to be told twice. She stripped down and dressed into her normal ninja clothing, her purple tee that showed a little netting and her leggings.

"Ready!" she yelled as she ran down the stairs.

"Took you long enough…" her dark haired teammate commented. Kaname stuck her tongue out at Sasuke.

"Very mature," Daiske smirked. Kaname giggled, suddenly in very high spirits. There first real mission… she couldn't stop saying it!

"We don't have time to be giddy Kaname," Kakashi stated. Kaname glared at him.

"Ya, ya, whatever…" she mumbled. The white haired girl looked over her shoulder at Kaname.

"Hurry up and eat, we don't have time to chit-chat."

"Is everyone grumpy this morning or what?" the Hatake whispered incoherently under her breath.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Kakashi!" a loud voice rumbled. "It's time to embrace our youthful mission! Is your team ready?"

Everyone in the kitchen sweat dropped.

"Who the heck is that?" she questioned. Kakashi sighed.

"Our partners for the mission… Team—"

*BAM!*

The kitchen door flew open to reveal a tall muscular man with huge eye brows and a bowl cut. His green jump suit and jounin jacked completed his dorky look.

"Team Guy, at your service!"

Everything went silent. Behind Guy, who was still striking a thumbs up and a blindingly white smile, were Neji Hyuuga, Rock Lee, and Aya.

"Aya!" Kaname and The Girl said in unison. Kaname's was chipper, while Hers was questionable.

"Hey!" she smiled. The look on her face was one of embarrassment that read oh-my-god-I-can't-believe-this-guy-is-my-sensei... Then she smiled deviously at Kaname. "I never thought we'd all be on a mission together! And it looks as though Kaname and Sasuke have improved! There not at each other's throats."

Kaname looked over at Sasuke. His hands were folded tightly over his chest, and he was leaning against the wall next to her. Aya was right. Kaname still hated the sorry excuse for a human, but she had learned that he wasn't as horrible as he seemed. Last week when they were picking up trash in the river, Kaname had slipped and got swept away by the current. She almost went over the waterfall, but thankfully Sasuke managed to catch her in time. When he got her to shore, he actually looked… concerned. He even lent her his shirt… Kaname blushed a bit at the memory.

'What the heck!' she thought. 'Why am I remembering that?'

"What's next," Aya teased, "dating?" Kaname snorted.

"You wish!"

Sasuke just "hn'ed."

The boy with brown hair and pale eyes, Neji, stared intensely at Aya. Kaname couldn't help but notice a soft vibe coming from him. It was directed towards his female teammate.

"What about you two, eh?" Kaname smirked as she looked between Aya and Neji. "When's the honeymoon?"

Neji's eyes widened.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" he spat coldly.

Aya nodded. "y-yeah! What do you mean?"

Kaname giggled. "Geeze Neji-san, is your headband on a bit too tight? It was only a joke! I can tell you two are close, though."

Lee laughed heartedly. "Yes, my youthful teammates are full of surprises!"

Lee didn't say another word after receiving two deadly glares from his friends.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Sorry to cut the fun, but it's time to explain the mission." Everyone's faces became serious as they gathered outside and next to the tall oak tree.

"Ok, here's the deal. Hokage-Sama has asked us to retrieve an important medical scroll that was stolen last week… It's said to be found in Tanzaku Gai, a town near Konoha. It's about a day's journey, so be prepared! We leave in 20 minutes, got it?"

"Hai!"

"Okay!" Guy said in a false American accent, "Let's gooooo!"

~x~

Team 7 and Team 9 ran through the trees, jumping from branch to branch. Kakashi was leading, with Guy following close behind, and then came That Girl, Sasuke and Daiske, Kaname, Aya, Lee and Neji.

Kaname looked over at Aya and smirked. "Aya, why aren't you next to Neji?" Aya hit her over the head and The girl smothered a smile and shook her head back and forth. As if taking in the possibilities, Aya changed her mind and hung her head out of embarrassment.

"I think I will go talk to Neji-kun…" then realizing what she called him she quickly corrected herself, "I mean Neji! Damn!" she muttered under her breath while The girl put an arm around her shoulders.

"Go get him, you little rabbit!"

The bunny like girl smiled at her nickname. "Thanks…will do…"

Kaname cheered in a high pitched squeal, taking on a slight Naruto-ish sound. "I knew it!" she crowed. That girl just shook her head out of annoyance, while Aya laughed softly to herself.

Quickly, Aya jumped to the next branch and gracefully flipped backwards over Lee, landing right next to her byakugan using companion. Neji brightened at the sight of his beautiful team mate, not that he would show it.

"Hey there," the Sarutobi smiled. Neji gave her a sideways glance and then muttered a hard 'hello'.

Neji growled inwardly at himself, 'Why didn't I say anything? I'm such a jerk! Look at her smile falter!" he yelled in his head.

Aya sighed. This guy was pretty harsh. He barely ever spoke, and when he did, it was to yell at Lee for failing at life. Sometimes, if she was lucky, she could strike up a conversation with him, but it only lasted a few minutes, and you could always look forward to an awkward silence afterwards.

Still, Aya had always been attracted to Neji. There was no secret there. But she had come to truth with the fact that she could just be attracted to him because he was strong. What could she say; she had a fetish for strong guys.

"So," she said, hopping today might be the day she could actually make good conversation with her friend, "this mission is going to be a piece of cake!" Neji merely grunted.

'Ok… not what I intended,' Aya thought. Maybe if I complement him he'll become more talkative… "You look so strong when you fight. Especially Gentle Fist Technique. How long did it take you to master?"

Neji's voice finally showed some emotion. "A few days. Why? You know you can't learn it, right?" Aya looked at him almost angrily.

"Yes. I know that. I just meant that you looked really powerful. Take a compliment." She spat with a steel edge barely etching into her reply. He again slapped himself for offending her. This is why he never spoke to her, in fear of embarrassing himself or hurting her. Aya looked away from Neji as she spoke.

"Neji…do you feel that strange chakra…?" Aya asked with fake worry filling her voice.

Neji automatically stiffened and activated his Byakuugan. "No. I don't see anything. Are you sure you felt it?" Aya turned tomato red and answered in a soft voice.

"No. I didn't feel anything. I'm sorry…I just meant to impress you…" Neji stiffened again, but this time from surprise. He turned sharply to face Aya, his brown locks flying.

"You don't ever need to try and impress me. You already do, Aya," he stated fiercely. Aya looked at him, electric green eyes wide.

"I-I-I…really?" she asked him out of pure disbelief. He nodded and softly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Eep! Neji-kun, you're the best! I'd hug you right now if we weren't dodging tree limbs!" The Hyuuga blushed a bit. She smiled and blushed too, but her face soon turned grave as she inclined her head toward the trees on her left. "Neji-kun…do you sense that chak-" Neji sighed.

" Aya really-" he broke off seeing a masked ninja with a gloved hand over Aya's nose and mouth, blocking her oxygen. Aya kicked violently and elbowed him in the gut.

The man grunted upon having the air knocked out of him. "Brat!" he rasped.

"Aya!" Neji screamed. The rest of the team turned around sharply at the sound of the beautiful teen's name being yelled out.

On a branch behind all of them, Aya was being held hostage by a tall man.

"Let her go!" That Girl yelled, her voice semi- strained. Kaname whipped her head to look at her white haired teammate in confusion. She knew that Aya and she were best friends, but never did Kaname think she would hear Her sound worried!

The man laughed. "I don't think so kiddies. Any of you come any close and this Kunai," he pulled out a Kunai and moved it over her body, "meets this beauty's throat."

"Let our youthful lily down, you un-youthful monster!" Guy- Sensei snapped, his hands balled into tight fists. Kaname glanced at Sasuke and he silently nodded. Then she looked at That Girl.

'We'll try that move!' she mentally ordered. That girl gave the Hatake a sideways glance and inclined her head. Next, That Girl mentally notified Daiske the plan using her telepathy. He smirked and grinned evilly, knowing what was coming.

A slight breeze blew through the air, static tingling Kaname's skin.

"Now!" Kaname yelled. In a moment, Daiske appeared behind the kidnapper and threw a punch. The Earth ninja dodged easily, using Aya as his shield, and sidestepped the blow. In return, Daiske reached out to grab Aya, who was currently in the open. Right as his hands skimmed past her arms, Sasuke flew past with his giant shirikin and threw it at the stranger.

The guy barely had time to react as he bent backwards, barley avoiding the near head on collision. Flipping, he had just enough time to see Her racing at him, her hand filled with demonic chakra. The hand went straight through his chest with a sickening crush. Blood spewed from his mouth as she wrenched her hand out of his stomach.

But something was wrong… he suddenly disappeared, and all that was left was a log.

"Fuck!" a voice yelled from below. The white haired girl looks downs to see a log instead of Aya in Daiske's shaking arms.

"Byakugan!" Neji yelled. Silently, he scanned the area. 'Damn, damn, damn!' he cursed himself. 'How could I have let this happen? She was right next to me! And I couldn't even help to try and save her!' Unexpectedly, an eerie chuckle enveloped the clearing.

"You think you can beat me with such armature antics?"

"He's up there," Lee yelled at Neji. The Hyuuga looked towards where the taijutsu-users finger was pointing. Up in a tree a couple yards away stood their friend and the Earth nin.

"All you need to do is bring me the scroll. Then, you get the girl," he smirked as fear flew through Aya's round orbs.

Neji, being the smart ninja, asked the million dollar question. "Will she be dead or alive?" The man smirked once again.

"Well, we'll just see when you deliver the scroll."

"Why is it so important?" Kaname screeched. "It's just a medical scroll!"

Aya's captor laughed. "Is that what you Hokage-Baka told you?" Everyone glanced around uneasily. "Heh, typical…"

"What's typical?" Lee yelled.

"It's TYPICAL that your stupid Hokage wouldn't tell you what that scroll REALLY is!"

That Girl gasped softly.

"It… can't be…" she whispered. The man glanced in her direction.

"Ah… Looks as if one of you bugs knows whats going on… I'll leave her to explain it to you." Before anyone could stop him, the villain and Aya disappeared in a puff of smoke. Lingering in the air were his final words. "Meet me in Otafuku Gai when you have it. Then, you can have her back…"

~x~

Team Kakashi and Team Guy walked sadly into their hotel rooms.

"Damn it!" Kaname growled, hitting her fist hard against the hotel sink. How could this have happened! The plan was bullet proof: get to Tanzaku Gai, get the scroll, and go home. Mission accomplished! How could Aya have been taken out of the equation! Kaname couldn't even fathom an answer.

That girl sat slowly on her bed. Her face was hard as the same questions flew through her head. She glanced at Kaname, who was warily preparing for a hot shower.

'Heh… what is with that girl and her showers,' she thought as she followed Kaname around the room with her eyes. Kaname, feeling the icy gaze on her back, turned and approached the girl.

"Okay," she stated, "let's clear something up." The Girl just blankly stared back at Kaname's gray blue orbs. The Hatake felt her lip twitch in anger. "I really don't like you, and you really hate me." That was a fact, not an analysis.

"If you say so," her female teammate sighed.

"But—"

The white haired teen looked back at Kaname.

"—we have to get Aya back… and to do that, I'll even work with you." The girl smirked and stood up, looking down at Kaname who was a good three inches shorter.

"Funny," her eyes flashed with venom, "I was about to say the same thing."

The brunette shifted uneasily, but didn't take her glare off Her.

"Glad we're on the same page," Kaname managed to say without stuttering. With that, Kaname grabbed her towel and exit to the bathroom.

-X-

'Does this kid ever shut up?' Sasuke wondered as Daiske hummed a song to himself. The lone Uchiha sighed and fell back onto his bed.

"Hey Sasuke?" Daiske questioned. The raven haired kids grunted in reply. "Do you think Aya-san is alright?"

Sasuke looked over at his dark brown haired teammate. Even though Aya and he weren't that close, he was still worried about her. She was That Girls best friend, no, only friend. You know, besides him… but he practically owned her.

Over the years, he had become accustom to seeing Aya and having a small talk with her sometimes.

"Aya is tough," he finally answered. "I can bet you that by the time we get there, she will already be out and running home."

Daiske seemed to brighten at the statement. "Good… She seems pretty important to Kaname. I hate seeing her upset."

Sasuke's eye brows burrowed together. Then he turned over, his back facing Daiske.

"Hn. Whatever." Then he got up and grabbed a towel. "I'm going to go shower."

"Is that an invitation?" Daiske smirked. A towel was furiously thrown at his face.

"Get your mind outta the gutter, Kyoto!" Sasuke growled, grabbing a different towel and disappearing out the door.

~x~

Kaname dipped her feet into the hot water to test the temperature. She sighed happily. 'Perfect…' the girl purred. Kaname peeled the fluffy white towel from her slim body and sank into the bubbly abyss.

"This is heaven," she moaned as she sank even further. Kaname's body ached. She hadn't run that far in a while. For a ninja, she really needed to step up her game!

The bubbly water came was up to her upper chest, enough to cover her thoroughly, so she turned the faucet off and let the silence sink in. Then she slid even farther than before, the water now covering her mouth, her nose still sticking out.

"Aya…" she mumbled incoherently under the water. Kaname still couldn't comprehend that her friend wasn't next door with her noisy team.

The Hatake didn't know how long she was in there, but she soon felt her fingers pruning. The water splashed as she sat up to grab her shampoo.

"1, 2, 3!" Taking a deep breath, she submerged herself completely under water, and then with a small gasp, re-emerged and began to lather the raspberry scented cleaner through her hair. After she washed it out, she conditioned, washed her body of the days grime, shaved, and rinsed the conditioner out.

Kaname took one last full body dip under the warm water, but lingered a moment. It just felt too good to move…

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Hey, anyone in here?" The voice belonged to Sasuke.

There was no reply.

Kaname came back up, standing in the process. A bit of water splashed out of the tub. The girl grabbed her towel and wrapped it back around herself, and began searching for her brush.

Then the door opened.

Eyes round, the teen span around, water flying from her hair. In the doorway stood a blushing Sasuke.

"I, UH, UM….!" He mumbled, his face shock stricken.

Kaname started to shake as she clutched her towel closer to her body.

"P—PERVERT!" she shouted, hurling anything in sight at the man. "Stop staring and get out! Eek! " Sasuke had already begun backing out, but froze when a certain article of clothing landed in his hair.

Kaname gasped, he face reddening even more. Everything was still.

That Girl chose then of all moment to walk by.

"Nice hair Uchiha," she giggled as flicked Kaname's white underwear from off his head, not even bothering to stop to admire the scene. "Hurry up in their Kaname. Other people need there showers, too," she stated, her voice drifting from down the hallway.

Sasuke finally averted his eyes away from Kaname's naked-ish body and looked at the ground. "I… um… I'll come back later…" With that, he quickly spun on his heel and high tailed it back to his room.


	6. RESCUE THE FALLEN LILLY!

Fading Love

By: Kaname Hatake

Recap-

"P—PERVERT!" she shouted, hurling anything in sight at the man. "Stop staring and get out! Eek! " Sasuke had already begun backing out, but froze when a certain article of clothing landed in his hair.

Kaname gasped, he face reddening even more. Everything was still.

That Girl chose then of all moment to walk by.

"Nice hair Uchiha," she giggled as flicked Kaname's white underwear from off his head, not even bothering to stop to admire the scene. "Hurry up in their Kaname. Other people need there showers too." She stated, her voice drifting from down the hallway.

Sasuke finally averted his eyes away from Kaname's naked-ish body and looked at the ground. "I… um… I'll come back later…" With that, he quickly spun on his heel and high tailed it back to his room.

Chapter 12: RESCUE THE FALLEN LILLY!

It was cold, and dark. The metal of the barred cage dug into the teen's side, and her wrists were pinned above her. The girls head was hung low as she groaned slightly.

Slowly, her electric green eyes fluttered open. Everything was blurred for a moment before things came into focus. Aya lay still in the round cage that was suspended above the cave floor about twenty feet.

"Where…?" she whispered hoarsely. Aya turned her head slightly to look around.

Drip…

The cave was dark, but had a soft red glow thanks to the little lantern on the other side.

Drip, drip…

There was a small entrance, but the girl couldn't see beyond it; it was too dark.

Drip…

'What is that!' she thought irritably. Something cool and wet dripped down the side of her face. She wiped her forehead against her forearm and looked at the liquid substance; water.

'Great…' she thought, 'this might as well be their form of Chinese water torture.'

Aya tried to concentrate her chakra, but to no avail. "Damn," she muttered, her breath now labored. "Genjutsu… They messed up the chakra circulatory system!" A cold sweat now appeared on the girl's upper brow, and she shivered.

'This… is going to be a long few days…' she thought sadly.

Abruptly, Aya's senses spiked. Coming gradually from the crack in the walls, two voices made their way to Aya's ears.

"—the hell!" a female voice screeched. "A prisoner? Are you insane?"

The other person shuffled uncomfortable.

"I thought they already had the scroll! But then I heard the chick say that this mission was going to be easy and I panicked!"

The female sighed unhappily.

"You're worthless," she grunted. "As if being a missing nin wasn't bad enough."

Aya gasped softly.

'Missing nin?' she thought franticly. 'This is worse than I thought!'

The voices bickered some more.

"I need the scroll Unari!" the woman yelled.

'So that's his name…' Aya acknowledged. 'Unari was the one who took me…'

"I will get it! The teams will want their kid back, especially that brown haired dude with the freak eyes..."

'Neji!' Aya mentally yelled. Anger swept through her at the thought of them hurting her Neji and the rest of her friends. She had to get out!

"Are you positive?" the woman questioned once again.

"For sure, Sumi- Sama" Unari replied.

The captive thought for a moment as she processed all her new information. 'Missing nin… Scroll… Sumi…' Then it hit her.

Uchiha Sumi, a relative of Sasuke.

Her body had never been found after the massacre. She had been pronounced dead, but if alive, a conspirator to the Uchiha assassination and a missing nin.

Could things get any worse?

Then two figured walked into the room.

"Well, well," Unari chuckled, "looks like sleeping beauty is awake."

~x~

Team Guy and Team Kakashi gathered in the open field the next morning. Everyone yawned and stretched. Last night's sleep hadn't reached anyone it seemed.

"Is everyone here?" Kakashi questioned, his lazy eye scanning the heads of the young ninja. There were eight heads current.

Kakashi sighed.

"Where is Kaname?"

No one answered.

"I'm here, I'm here! Don't leave yet!"

Everyone turned to see Kaname rushing towards them.

"You're late," Neji barked. Kaname averted her gaze to the ground.

"Gomen…"

Daiske turned to his teammate.

"Even Kakashi- Sensei was on time." he spat. His normally warm navy eyes were dark and cold.

Kaname flinched. Was Daiske mad at her or something?

"I'm sorry… no one woke me up…"

Surprisingly, That Girl spoke up.

"Its fine Kaname, just don't let it happen again."

The Hatake boggled at Her. 'She… stood up for me?'

That Girl glared at her with her icy blue eyes.

'Yes I did! Now shut up, get your ass over here, and let me explain what the hell is going on!' Kaname flinched as those last orders were barked into her mind. With a sigh, she trudged over to the group and stopped next to Lee.

The boy smiled.

"Good morning Kaname- san!"

Kaname smiled back.

"Mornin' partner!"

The two turned to the teams and prepared girl opened her mouth and began to speak.

"The mission we were assigned was a mistake." No one moved, so she continued. "Yes, we were supposed to retrieve a stolen medical scroll, but it looks as if the locations for this mission, and the mission we SHOULD be on were switched."

Kakashi lifted his hand to his temple.

"Great… just peachy…"

"Obviously, we can't just go back to our village without Aya, but the mission we are now on is an A ranked mission. It looks as though we have no choice but to get the scroll, but keep it in our possession while rescuing Aya."

Kaname's hand bolted up. "Ano!"

"…. Put your hand down Kaname…"

Kaname shook her hand vigorously.

"Put it down!"

"But—" she argued, "It's relevant!"

Kakashi looked at his daughter and sighed. Then he looked at his student with the long white hair and nodded. She growled.

"Fine! What?"

Kaname grinned. "I know how to get the scroll!"

Everyone looked at Kaname.

"Do tell," a deep voice echoed off the trees. The group of shinobi wiped around to see a cloaked figure enter the grassy plain.

That girl gasped.

"You-!" she breathed. The figure under the hood smirked and drew it back. A handsome boy of about 16 stepped closer to them, his hazel orbs analyzing everyone. As his eyes scanned them, they lingered longingly over Her. When his eyes reached Kaname's, they seemed to widen a fraction of an inch, which made Kakashi protectively inch closer to her.

"My name is Toshihero," he stated calmly. "I was assigned by my Kage to help you retrieve your teammate. I met with Her last night," he said, nodding his head at the demon girl, "but it seems she hasn't mentioned me quite yet." That Girl growled.

"I was getting to it…"

Kaname felt a weird vibe coming from this man… He was giving her a headache.

….

Wait! A headache?

_Kaname winced as her head split in pain. 'Damn it!' she cried. 'Why do I always get these when I feel like I'm remembering my past?'_

'This guy!' she thought through slight pain, 'could he be related to my memories?'

"I told you, we don't need your assistance!"

The man chuckled. "I've never been very good with orders, especially ones from pretty girls like you."

Sasuke spoke for the first time. His voice made Kaname's face redden, for she suddenly realized how close he actually was. The Uchiha stood stoically behind her.

"Maybe you should listen to Her," he said nodding towards the white haired female, "or this 'pretty girl' will kick your ass…"

Toshihero laughed. "Whether you like it or not Uchiha Sasuke, I'm going to complete my mission."

Kaname heard Sasuke take an inhale of breath. I guess he didn't like the stranger knowing his name…

That Girl stepped forward, but before she could go any further, Kaname ran up to the guy. She looked up into his dark eyes for some sort of clue.

"Let him help us," she said, still gazing into his eyes.

"But—" The Girl argued.

"Yes," Guy- Sensei agreed. "The more youthful help, the better!"

"I agree," Neji said monotone.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted. He wanted to know more about this guy…

"Let our youthful Toshi help our journey!" Lee exclaimed.

"Whatever..." Daiske sighed as he ran a hand through his brown hair.

Kakashi took a moment to ponder his answer.

"I think he should come. He knows the territory."

That Girl howled. "I'm going to kill all of you! I can locate Aya and the scroll faster than this nimrod, and Neji has his fucking Byakugan! So don't give me shit about Territory!"

Kakashi sighed and shrugged. "He's going to help weather we want him to or not, so why not make it easy? Let him help."

That girl grunted in defeat.

Kaname smirked and tore her eyes away from the man. She would find out what it was about this guy that put her wheels in motion.

"It's final then!" Kaname cheered as she grabbed the man's cloaked arm and dragged him to the group.

"Oi!" he protested. He didn't like being touched.

"Aya, here we come!" Lee grinned as he punched the air.

Neji turned to Kaname then. "Now, what was your plan…?"

Kaname gasped and let go of Toshihero. "I almost forgot! Heh!" Everyone sweat dropped. "This is for the girls though," she added as she grabbed Her arm and linked it with her own. Kaname winked. "We'll distract the guards while you guys get the scroll!"

"No."

Kaname glared at Kakashi.

"Yes."

"No!"

"It's a good plan! The men here are sluts!"

"I don't care! I will not have my daughter playing with men twice her age and size!"

"I don't care what you want! It'll be quick and painless! And," she added, "Who could refuse Her!" Kaname pointed at her female companion. "Or this!" she said as she made her eyes look innocent and sexy.

Daiske hit Kaname over the head, as did Sasuke.  
"No." Kakashi, Sasuke and Daiske said at once.

Suppressed laughter was heard in the corner.

"Sadly," Toshihero chuckled, "the kid's right. The quickest way to get your scroll is by seducing the guards and killing the leader."

Kakashi gaped at the man.

"It's settled then." said Kaname. Toshihero grabbed Kaname's shoulder and turned her towards him.

"Kaname, is it?" The Hatake nodded confused. "You and this girl," he said taking Her into his other arm, " won't be able to do anything dressed like that…"

Kaname realized the mistake of her plan right then.

'I am going to fucking kill you Hatake!' The Girl screeched in her mind as she mentally sent wolves running after her. Chibi Kaname ran for her life.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' she apologized over and over.

"Slim ball," That Wolf murmured, "Get your hand off of me and maybe you'll live another second longer…"

"I'm sorry Kakashi! Please, it was stupid! Let's forget this plan, ne!" Kaname begged as she was dragged by That Girl into the nearest clothing boutique.

"No, no!" Kakashi smiled behind his masked face. "This will be good for you!"

Kaname kicked and screamed as That Girl shoved her into a dressing stall full of slutty clothing.

"So dude," Daiske whispered as he listened to Kaname and his other teammate argue, "what exactly happened to you last night?" The brunette fingered a lacey pair of underwear with distaste as he awaited his answer.

Sasuke blushed a bit at the memory, but kept a straight face. "Nothing really…"

"Bull shit," Daiske snapped. His temper began to flare. "We all heard Kaname scream! Why?" The elastic in the boys hand grew dangerously thin.

"It was nothing… I just walked in on her in the bath..."

The elastic snapped.

"Like hell that's it!" he hissed.

"That's it," Sasuke argued. "What, do you think I did something to her?"

Daiske clenched and unclenched his jaw. "If you ever lay a hand on her," he threatened, "I'll kill you."

"Heh!" Sasuke smirked in the direction on the ninja. "Jealous, aren't we?"

"Not is the least," he replied, as he took out a few coins to pay for the broken piece of fabric.

Sasuke eyed the guy. The way he had snapped at Kaname this morning was unusual, but to think that it was over this! It was just sad...

"Nothing happened dork." Sasuke continued as he folded his hands over his chest tightly.

"Good."

The sound of the stall door opening brought the boys back to attention.

"Careful where you leave your jaws boys… Santo is ready to snap anytime now."

Daiske slapped a hand over his gapping eyes, while Sasuke blinked repeatedly.

The snappy wolf was wearing a skin tight vest that laced up the center. Her breasts were practically falling out of it! Then there was her black mini skirt. It clung close to her hips, accenting her feature even more. Her fishnet stockings snaked around her muscular legs, which were enclosed by a pair of black stripper boots. Her snow white hair now has tinges of black falling throughout it, and her sinfully red lips twisted up in a smirk. Her stunning blue eyes dashed towards Toshihero, who held no expression on his face except for a slight, taunting smile.

"Kaname, get your ass out here!" she finally ordered.

"N-No! I refuse! This is so embarrassing!"

"Don't make me come in there Hatake!"

"But-"

"1!"

"But, but-!"

"2!"

"Aw damnit!"

The stall door flew opened to reveal a flustered and slightly annoyed Kaname.

To say Sasuke and Daiske were surprised at what they saw was an understatement. Kaname was clad in a skin tight, black belly shirt. It was cut in a loooooow V with halter straps that attempted to accent her pretty much nonexistent breasts. Her military-like skirt barely covered her, and her studded belt accented her small hips. She too wore fishnet stockings, and her tall hooker boots gave a good 3 inches to her 5'3 frame. The girls hair was tied up in a sexy, yet messy bun, and soft purple lip-gloss shimmered playfully on her awkward lips.

Toshihiro smiled. "Very good ladies. Although," he smirked, " I think the midget could show some more skin…"

Kaname glared at the man and wrapped her arms around herself protectively. That Girl just scoffed and walked to the counter.

"We'll be taking these," she said to the cashier. Swiftly she pulled out her Ninja identification card and flashed it at the man. This cared allowed her to 'borrow' the clothes till the mission was complete. "Don't worry," she reassured him, "the clothing will be brought back without any damage."

The man nodded his head vigorously and waved as they left the shop.'

Kakashi, who was standing outside, greeted them.

"Normally, I would highly discourage clothing such as this, but what can I say," he chuckled, "it suits you!"

Kaname blushed profusely and hit her father repeatedly.

"Bastard!"

Sasuke and Daiske remained quiet, speaking only through eye contact.

'Dude…'

'I know….. when did they-?'

'I have no clue.'

'I think I rather like my team now.'

Sasuke rolled his eyes. 'Tool…' he mentally scoffed as Daiske continued ogling That Girl from behind. Sasuke's eyes slowly began to wander towards the brown-sugar haired girl who was tugging nervously at her skirt.

'This is pathetic, Kaname!'

~X~

Kaname and That Girl nodded towards each other and began walking seductively into the castle grounds. Or, at least, She did. Kaname merely fumbled the whole way. Finally, they spotted the first guard.

"HAULT!" he yelled. Kaname glanced up at Her nervously.

'I'll get this one,' she mentally told her. Kaname sighed thankfully.

"Hi there handsome…" she smiled sexily. The Guard automatically relaxed and smiled.

"Why he-llo ladies…"

The smell of alcohol filled That Girls nostrils. 'Great….' She mumbled.

"Um," she stuttered purposely, "I was hoping you could help us… we're lost and, well, we just _can't_ seem to find out way back to town…" Her unrealistically blue eyes sparkled lustfully. "Care to… _help_ us…?" she added as her breath fanned across his neck.

Kaname's cheeks reddened slightly at the display.

"I… UH…"

That girl chuckled. "Oh…" she laughed, "looks like you're too slow..."

The guard didn't even have time to blink before a kunai was shoved into his stomach. He coughed up some blood which smeared across Her cheek, and then fell to the ground.

"One down," she smirked.

Kaname stood wide eyed at the scene.

Seduce, lure, and kill.

"Kakashi," the white haired demon radioed in, "one guard down, three to go. How are you guys doing?"

Kakashi answered on the other end.

"Good. We've managed to enter the castle now that you've killed the east guard… we're using Neji to find the scroll."

There was some static, and then she heard Neji say something. Kakashi then buzzed back.

"We've found it. It looks like a trap, but we'll use Lee's Taijutsu and Neji and mines ninjutsu if we have to. You girls be careful with the next guard."

"Got it, Sensei."

The Girl lifted her hand from her mic and look towards Kaname who was currently sitting on the ground next to her.

"What in the world are you doing?" she asked annoyed.

Kaname looked up at her. Her face was slightly pale.

"Th-the blood…" she murmured as she pulled herself up. The Demon Girl rolled her eyes at the pathetic weakness.

"It's just blood. Get over it."

Kaname nodded sheepishly and fell into step right next to her semi-companion.

~X~

The north, south, and west guards went down just as easily. That Girl decided it would be best for her to do the seducing and killing after watching Kaname knock out and tie up the south guard.

"Pathetic…" she mumbled as Kaname once again collapsed from the sight of blood. The brunette glared up into the girls eyes.

"I'm sorry! I can't help it…"

She sighed. "It's fine Hatake… now let's change and meet up with Kakashi. I bet they've got the scroll already…"

Kaname smiled, happy to be done with her job (and the outfit).

The two quickly changed in the forest, and ran to the check point.

No one was there yet.

"Weird," Kaname muttered.

That Girl radioed in to Kakashi.

"Sensei? Sensei, do you copy?"

Nothing.

Static.

"Sensei?" she tried again.

Still no reply.

She quickly changed over to Guy's mic. "Guy- Sensei? Are you there?"

A loud boom answered in return, followed by Guy's loud yelled of victory.

"Got 'em!" he yelled.

The blue eyed beauty rolled her eyes. "GUY-SENSEI, WHAT'S GOIN ON OVER THERE?"

The sound of the 'youthful' teacher fighting was evident in his voice when he answered.

"The place is—OOOOOOOYAAAAAA! Completely booby- trapped! HIIIIYA! And—WHOA- WHATCH OUT MY YOUTHFUL LEE! CAPOOOW! We need you're assistance my lovely flowers! HYAHYAHYAAAAA~!"

She sighed and turned to Kaname.

"We'll be right there…"

"Traps?" Kaname questioned.

That girl was already running back to the castle. "Yup… Come on! Move it!"

The Hatake groaned at the thought of more blood.

~X~

Toshihiro was fighting gracefully in the back. His moves, flawless. His precision, deadly. He was a killing machine. It was what he was born to do.

"Kakashi-san," he yelled as he broke the neck of the man to his left, "how many more?"

"About thirteen!" he shouted back.

"We can't keep this up!" Sasuke barked as he killed another clone.

Daiske agreed as he flipped up from the ground. "They just keep coming!"

Lee glared at the approaching shinobi. "Guy- sensei! We can't hold them off much longer!"

Neji yelled back as he removed his gentle fist from his unconscious opponent. "We have to! We have to get Aya!"

Toshihiro smashed his fist into another ninja's face. "We need to focus them into a single point and attack with a final blow!"

"Got it!" they all replied. Slowly the teams forced the shinobi into a dense corner.

"Now!" Toshihiro yelled.

Kakashi bit his thumb and smeared some blood across his palm and did some hand seals. Abruptly, 27 wolf demons appeared, on top of which rode their white haired friend and their short brunette friend.

"Good…" That Girl smiled. "The summoning technique worked."

Kaname hoped down and ran over to the group.

"Are you all okay?" Her tone was worried.

"We're all fine…" Daiske grumbled as Kaname hugged him tightly.

Sasuke walked over to That Girl. "How did it go?" he asked.

She chuckled.

"Fine. They were nothing compared to me! I didn't even get to use my techniques…"

Sasuke laughed softly.

"Crazy girl…" he muttered.

"Well," she said to the crowed, "now that were done here," she paused, "It's time to get Aya."


	7. The Scroll

Fading Love

By: Kaname Hatake

Recap-

"Good…" That Girl smiled. "The summoning technique worked."

Kaname hoped down and ran over to the group.

"Are you all okay?" Her tone was worried.

"We're all fine…" Daiske grumbled as Kaname hugged him tightly.

Sasuke walked over to That Girl. "How did it go?" he asked.

She chuckled.

"Fine. They were nothing compared to me! I didn't even get to use my techniques…"

Sasuke laughed softly.

"Crazy girl…" he muttered.

"Well," she said to the crowed, "now that we're done here," she paused, "It's time to get Aya."

Chapter 6: The Scroll

Aya fell to the ground with a cry. Her form was bloody, and she had gashes and cuts strewn about her, but her green eyes glared up at her captor with pure hate and determination.

Unari chuckled.

"This Leaf kid just doesn't know when to give up!"

He threw a few more punches and kicks at the girl, making her scream out in agony. Sumi smirked and walked over to the motionless Aya.

"What's your name?" she enquired.

Aya mustered up as much strength as she could and shot up a full-out glare.

"Fuck you!" she spat.

Sumi laughed and bent down, grabbing the Sarutobi roughly by the hair and yanking her up to eye level. Aya squeaked at the pain.

"I don't think you heard me…" she smiled softly.

Abruptly, the air was knocked out of the brunettes lungs as the Uchiha's fist rammed into her stomach. Aya gasped and chocked on the air around her.

"I said," Sumi's eyes narrowed, "what is your name."

The prisoner whimpered slightly as she contemplated giving her identity. What would they do with it? Would they blackmail her father? Would they transform into her and steal her identity after they killed her? There were just too many possibilities.

The female Uchiha rolled her eyes and nodded at Unari, who in turn raised his sword and thrust it downward.

"It's Aya!"

The sword stopped right at her back, the tip barely drawing blood.

Unari laughed.

"Pathetic!" he mumbled as he put his Katana back in its sheath.

Sumi's face stayed the same; stoic and cold.

"Aya, what?"

"Sarutobi…" the young ninja muttered, defeat sinking into her being.

Sumi's grip on her hair loosened, and Aya fell the ground with a soft thud. The broken ninja watched through hazy eyes as Sumi walked away.

"Put her back in the cage once you finished," she stated as she rounded the corner and out of sight.

Aya's mind swept with fear as she heard Unari advance forward from behind her.

"Well, Aya, looks like we're going to have a little more fun…"

Aya silently sat there and took the beating, and only once she was safely back in her cage did she let herself cry.

"Guys… Neji-kun… please, hurry up…"

~X~

The team flew at the speed of light with Neji leading the way, his Byakugan ablaze.

"Aya's chakra, I can feel it!" That Girl yelled.

Kaname's eyebrows burrowed together.

'Thank god we have This Girl and Neji on our team…'

"I can see a cave coming into view in about the next 30 meters!" Neji yelled. "There is an enormous amount of chakra in there… what the hell is going on?"

Kaname nodded in agreement.

"Yeah… The guy who hijacked Aya was strong, but he wasn't that strong…"

"Something is off," Daiske murmured.

"Hn." Toshihiro agreed.

Kakashi motioned the team to a clearing.

"Okay, so now that we've found Aya, we need a plan."

Toshihiro nodded.

"I have a few options."

"No."

Everyone turned their heads towards that girl. She stood with her eyes glued icily on the earth ninja.

"We'll do this my way."

"And what exactly is that?" he queried.

"Let me do all the work. You people will only get in my way."

Sasuke scoffed.

"Like hell we will."

"We all want to save Aya!" Kaname scowled.

"Just hear me out," Toshihiro replied.

"We're just wasting time with our 'ideas'!"

Toshihiro ignored the white haired girl and turned to everyone else.

"I say we go in three groups of three, split up in the cave, and search. If we find the girl, send out a chakra flare, and the other groups will follow it to them. Also," he continued, "we know there is more than one opposing ninja in there, so we have to be prepared for a fight."

"His logic is so youthfully instructed, but he's so stiff!" Guy yelled. "Loosen those youthful limps, Toshi!"

Toshihiro twitched slightly at the nickname.

"Erm… Ehem, so I suggest we split up as followed: Neji, Kaname, and Kakashi on one team, Sasuke, Daiske, and Guy on another, and Lee, That Girl, and I on the last team. This way, there is a sensor type ninja on each team, and we can communicate through This Girl's telekinesis."

Everyone nodded, liking the plan, excluding Her.

"Okay, let's go!"

Everyone nodded fiercely and sprang back into the trees.

~x~

The pain coursing through her veins was unbearable. After Unari had stuck his last kunai into her, he left the fallen Kunoichi to bleed; with no chakra whatsoever to help herself in the long run.

Unari continued to laugh evilly as he entered Sumi's bedroom. The ninja, who was currently undressing, gave a backwards glance at him

"What do you want, pervert…?"

He chuckled as he advanced towards her naked form.

"Oh, nothing, just, "he stopped to snake his arms around her waist, "taking advantage of our time alone." The last word was hissed into the raven haired woman's ear.

Sumi shrugged out of the nin's muscular arms and glared at him.

"We have a mission to fulfill. Don't bother with such hopeless antics."

Unari sighed and backed away.

"Ya. Ya, ya…"

As Sumi slipped into her new ninja attire, she felt a funny presence.

"Unari," she whispered harshly.

"Hmm?"

"Do you… feel that…?"

"Ahh… so you're finally in the mood, eh?"

She slapped his purple head.

"Ass! No! This chakra presence… Shit! They found us!"

Without warning, a loud crash rumbled through the hideout, origination from the western end of the layer. Sumi grabbed her large axe and ran out the door, her henchman close behind.

"Go get the girl!" she ordered, flying through seals. "We're getting that scroll at all cost." Unari smiled evilly and vanished. 'Let the games begin,' the missing Uchiha smirked as she licked her blood red lips.

~X~

Kakashi's hand stopped flickering with his chidori and allowed everyone to enter the new hole in the wall. Inside, Kaname shivered.

"It's freezing…"

"We don't have time to whine, Hatake," Sasuke growled slightly. "Let's get a move on."

Kaname ran up to Neji and Kakashi and took a final look at the new groups. She sighed, then spun around to face the awaiting darkness.

"GO!" Toshihero yelled.

Kaname sprang forth and ran through the twisting tunnels of the wet cavern. Neji's byakugan led the way down the treacherous passages, which slightly eased Kaname's fear of running into something. When it came to darkness, it took her eyes a while to adjust.

"Something's coming," Neji suddenly warned. Kakashi nodded and pulled out a kunai.

"Kaname, Neji, get behind me."

The two Chunin obeyed.

Kakashi felt the walls, and found an entrance. "Were going in," he told them. On his count, the three jumped into the room, their guards up, Neji's Byakugan activated, and Kakashi's signal Sharingan swirling in his left eye.

Neji scanned the abnormally dark room for any sign of life.

"Aya!" he suddenly yelled.

Neji looked above them. In a cage hung on the ceiling was Aya. A soft flow of blood dripped off her and plopped to the ground, like a demented tear falling from a flowers petal. Neji ran towards her.

"Aya! Aya, answer us! GAH!"

Kaname gasped as Neji flew back at her.

"Whoa! I gottcha!" Kaname caught the Hyuuga clumsily and fell backwards. "Neji, you okay?"

Neji grunted. "Ya..! What the hell was that?" Quickly, he activated his bloodline limit.

"Pathetic, kid…" a man's voice chuckled from behind the two. Neji flew around just in time to block a punch to his head.

"Gentle Fist Technique!" Neji's bound hand hit the ninja in the chest, sending him flying.

"Ack!"

Unari sprung back up and glared at the brown hair kid.

"You've got some nerve!" he yelled as he ran back at Neji, but a flash of purple caught his attention.

"Kaiton: Shi Kage no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Shadow of Death Jutsu)" Out of Kaname's hand sprouted a large shadow. It looked like a reaper of some sort. When it hovered over the earth ninja, it drew its scythe and struck. Abruptly, Unari was engulfed in a wave of heat. He had never felt so blistering in his life! He fell to cold cave floor, attempting to cool his smoldering body.

"Gah—AHH!" he screamed in agony.

"Chidori!" Kakashi bellowed. The Hatake's shrieking hand pierced the ninja in the chest; a through-and-through blow.

Unari chocked, blood spluttering from his lips. Kaname looked away, sick.

"Neji, get Aya…" she demanded. Neji ran to Aya's cage and lowered it.

"Aya…!" he nervously mumbled. He pried the crate open and jumped to his female companion's rescue.

"N-Neji…?" she moaned. The Hyuuga's lavender eyes glared into her hazy green ones. Then he put his hand in a seal.

"Release!" he commanded. Automatically, Aya's eyes dilated properly, and her chakra began flowing back to its normal current. She felt reenergized and strong again.

"Neji!" she cried.

Then his lips connected with hers. The kiss was strong and sloppy, but Aya didn't care. She happily returned it. Ha! The now free captive would have even wrapped her hands around his neck if they weren't pinned above her!

"Ehem." a voice coughed from behind them.

"Kaname!" Aya squeaked. Said girl giggled.

"Hi there…" She then ran to her friends bound hands and cut the chains. "Sorry, Aya love, but we really gotta get outta here…"

Aya nodded and stood, but fell not a moment later.

"Aya!" Neji gasped. Aya huffed in pain. Frantically, Kaname knelt beside her. "Um…! I'll try and heal you!"

But Kaname just sat there and stared as her friend cringed in anguish. She had never tried to heal another person before! Whenever she got hurt, her body naturally reacted… like it knew what to do, but to project that onto Aya was another story.

Shakily, Kaname raised her gloved hand and placed it on a single wound and tried to concentrate her chakra. Nothing happened.

"Are you going to help her or not Hatake?" Neji growled angrily. Kaname huffed and tried again. Still, no blue chakra rained from her hand.

"You're so weak!" a female voice radiated from behind her. Kaname turned to see Her running towards them.

"Wha-?" she stumbled. That Girl pushed Kaname out of the way and placed her hand over Aya. Ice began forming over the frail body, until it covered her in a thick sheet. The demon closed her eyes and concentrated. The ice began to glow a soft blue, and then, in one swift movement of her arm, the ice shaved off. Not a scratch was left. Not a scar flawed her skin.

Aya beamed up at her best friend. "Thank you so much!"

The white haired girl smiled and hugged her friend tightly. "Anytime."

"What did you do?" Kaname wandered in awe. She received a glare.

"I'll tell you later, but we got to move!"

Then it occurred to her.

"Umm… where are the others?"

That Girl hissed slightly. "I knew you found Aya! Thanks for telling us Kaname! Weren't you the one they assigned to send the flare to alert us?"

Kaname flushed, embarrassed. She had completely forgotten.

"Oops…" she mumbled.

Kakashi finally walked over.

"I discarded the body, but there is still a large chakra presence here. I have a feeling this isn't over yet." The Sensei's lazy eye floated over to Her. "Why aren't you with your group, girl?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because I knew you found Aya. Psh, I didn't even think you'd be able to do kill the henchman… lucky you proved me wrong." Then she looked at KANAME. "And that technique you used, don't tell me that's as good as it gets!"

Kaname pulled her hands into fists. "Of course its not! I'm not as weak as you make me out to be!"

That was a lie. Kaname wavered slightly and looked away. That was her most powerful technique, and it wasn't even hers. Kakashi taught it to her a few weeks earlier.

The Girl saw Kaname's faltered glare and sneered. "How weak…"

Kaname would've retorted, but chose instead to turn and run out of the room, now determined to find the others.

"Wait, Kaname!" Aya yelled. She had to warn them about Sumi Uchiha!

"Kakashi-Sensei, there is another!" Quickly, she filled the remaining three in. Kakashi scowled at the bad news.

"Come on. Neji, carry Aya. You," he pointed at Her," follow me and find Kaname and the others! Now!"

~X~

The auburn haired Kunoichi ran through the maze of halls in search of her comrades.

'They're around here somewhere…' she rambled in her mind. As she rounded another corner, she saw the faint outline of someone walking towards her.

"Toshihero!" she cried in relief as she ran at him. "I'm so glad I found you! Where are the others?"

He didn't reply. As Kaname got closer, the image became sharper. She halted to a stop and jumped backwards, reaching for her kunai.

"Heh, it's just a child!" a woman's voice cackled. Kaname barely had enough time to dodge the oversized Ono (axe).

'Shit!' Kaname yelped. 'This is bad!' The teen continued to dodge blows, until out of nowhere, the axe sliced her leg.

"Kya!" Kaname fell out of the air with a thud. The little Hatake gripped her leg tightly, blood oozing out of the wound. Kaname pushed the thought of the red substance to the back of her mind and tried to shuffle backwards.

"So weak," Sumi sighed. "It's almost degrading to kill you." Then she smiled. "But I can't have you running back to your little pack of flea's, now can I?"

Kaname whimpered slightly in fear as the woman raised her large weapon over her head.

"Sharingan…" she spoke. Red eyes began smiling evilly down upon the frightened 13-year-old.

Then, a flash of white hot pain struck Kaname in her mind.

Red eyes…!

A memory tore from the depths of Kaname's soul.

It was of a man in a bloodstained ANBU uniform, his red eyes boring down onto her, and a Katana raised above his head. Kaname's eye's shook with fright as the memory embedded itself into her mind. It was there to stay.

"Die…"

As the Ono descended on Kaname, the girl's body seemed to react on its own. Kaname's good leg flew up and connected with the ninja's stomach. The woman gasped and dropped the axe and stumbled backwards. Kaname, still in auto pilot, threw a right hook at Sumi and knocked her back another two or three feet. The wound on her leg glowed blue once again and healed itself right as Kaname charged at the missing nin.

Out of nowhere though, a figure jumped in front of Kaname and stopped her from moving any further. Kaname's eyes slowly regained the ability to see, and she was now face-to-face with the Uchiha crest.

"Sasuke…?" she mumbled, confused.

"Moran!" he shouted as he grabbed her and flew backwards. "Are you insane, or just trying to get yourself killed?"

Kaname glanced up at his angry eyes, confused.

"What?"

The rest of the teams, including Aya and Kakashi's group, appeared with their weapons drawn.

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" Aya smiled devilishly.

Kaname looked at everyone in awe.

"Kaname, did you even realize what you were about to step into?" Sasuke looked at her quizzically. Kaname looked past him and at the smirking enemy. All around her were explosive tags. One step into that tangled web, and she would have been dead.

She gulped. "God… Thank you Sasuke…"

The boy grunted.

"So," Kakashi said to Guy, "what's the plan?"

Guy did a freaky pose. "I'll do a youthful thing!"

Kakashi, along with everyone else, sweat dropped.

"What youthful thing?" Kakashi hissed.

"It's…" Guy fumbled, "a thing in progress! Respect the thing!"

"We're doomed," Daiske muttered bitterly. Lee punched his arm.

"Guy-Sensei will come up with a wonderful plan!"

Sumi laughed. "A much fun as this is, kiddies, I need that scroll, so either give it to me now, or die. You're choice. Choose wisely."

Guy stepped forward. 'Get everyone back,' he mentally ordered to That Girl. She nodded and sent the message out to everyone else. Next, he drew his kunai.

"We KONOHA shinobi will fight to the death! Prepare yourself, for we won't go easy on you!"

Sumi chuckled and got into a defensive position. "You brought this on yourselves!" she yelled as she charged forward.

Guy took his kunai and threw it at the approaching enemy.

'Too easy!' she thought as she side-stepped the kunai. But something on the knife caught her attention. It was sparking.

Attached to the end of the kunai was an explosive tag!

'Shit!' she screeched. The knife hit the ground and ignited all the other paper bombs. The Konoha shinobi were already halfway out of the cave when they heard the explosion.

Outside on the field, the group looked back on the collapsing cave. Kakashi and Neji searched for any sign of life in the rubble and found nothing. Eventually, they found Sumi Uchiha's dead body. They decided to burn it along with the rest of the cave's secrets.

"I can't believe it," Sasuke muttered on the run home. "All this time, there's been another Uchiha, and she was just like HIM…"

Kaname looked at Sasuke sadly. She knew about his clan by now of course.

"Sasuke, there is nothing you could have done…"

Sasuke sighed. "Ya… I guess…"

That Girl appeared next to Sasuke and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Sasuke-kun…" she whispered sadly.

Kaname felt awkward suddenly. The air between The Girl and Sasuke got heavy…

"Well…," Toshihero said loudly, shaking the weird atmosphere away, "this was fun… We should do this again sometime…"

"Ha!" the girl laughed. "Not unless you follow my orders! You almost got us killed!"

"Like hell…" he chuckled. "If we followed you, we WOULD be dead right now…"

That girl growled. "You better watch yourself boy. I can kill you in a moment's time."

"Heh! I'd like to see that, you cute little demon…" He smirked.

The white haired girl's fist filled with ice shards, which flew at him with deadly precision.

"Not a chance," he sighed, dodging. "You may act strong, but your really weak!"

"Wanna try that again?" That Girl yelled as she stopped on a branch. Everyone else stopped too. "You think you can beat me, go ahead, you fucking, cocky man!" Her chakra was dangerously flashing.

"H-hey," Kaname laughed falsely, "Calm down, ne?"

Anger boiled softly behind said man's brown eyes. "-sorbed…."

"What was that?" The Girl yelled. Everyone shuffled uneasily.

"Guys," Kaname began again, but she was interrupted.

"I said, stop being so damn selfish, Ookami!"

…..

Everything went silent.

"What," That Girl stuttered, "did you just call me…?" The white haired girl's voice shook.

Toshihiro's eyes winded as he realized what he had called her.

"Ookami?" Kaname wondered aloud, "Who the heck is Ookami?"

Sasuke's glare was frozen on the man in front of him. "I haven't heard anyone call her that in years…" he muttered.

"Call who what?" Kaname yelled, turning to Sasuke.

An eerie chuckle froze Kaname on the spot.

"Well, looks like my covers blown…"

Another round of light danced in front of Kaname's eyes as another memory rose to the surface. The scar on her back seared with pain as she choked slightly on her own breath. Tears gathered in her eyes as flashes from the past flew through her mind.

Blood.

Death.

Pain.

Agony.

Sasuke….

"Itachi!" Kaname yelled. Kaname didn't even know what she was saying. Who was Itachi? How did she know that name?

Her female teammate's chakra flared.

"You bastard!" she snarled. "I should've known it was you!" That Girl ran at the man, her face and chakra furious beyond belief, but the man disappeared in a mirage of crow feathers.

In the sky, they began to recollect, but instead of the earth ninja Toshihero reappearing, the dangerous missing ninja, Uchiha Itachi, appeared, glaring emotionlessly down upon them.


	8. Ookami

**Fading Love**

**By: Kaname Hatake**

Before I start, I think you guys should know how old everyone is! Some of you are getting confused. Sorry!

Kaname - 13

Sasuke – 14

Daiske - 15

Ookami (That Girl) - 15

Aya- 15

The reason Daiske, Aya, and Ookami are older than everyone is because they were held back in the academy.

Daiske was held back because he never paid attention, Aya because she started the Academy late, and Ookami will be explained in this chapter!

Ok! Read on!

**Recap-**

"You bastard!" she snarled. "I should've known it was you!" That Girl ran at the man, her face and chakra furious beyond belief, but the man disappeared in a mirage of crow feathers.

In the sky, they began to recollect, but instead of the earth ninja Toshihero reappearing, the dangerous missing ninja, Uchiha Itachi appeared, glaring emotionlessly down upon them.

**Chapter 7: ****Ookami**

"Hello Ookami…" Itachi said from above the flabbergasted ninja's. His lips tuned up into a twisted smirk. "I told you I'd be back…"

Ookami stood there, her eyes fixated on the man, shaking. Her whole frame, as hard as she tried to contain it, shook uncontrollably with anger and fear.

"Uchiha," she spat.

Kaname tore her eyes from the villain to look at her team mate.

'Uchiha Itachi?' Kaname pondered. Then her eyes widened. She whipped her head in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke was shaking, his jaw clenched, and his fists balled, ready to fight. 'Is that… Sasuke's brother?'

"Hn. I thought I would have gotten away with the Toshihero disguise a bit longer than I did." Itachi's stated dryly as his cold, red eyes scanned the ninja, finally landing on Ookami. Her demonic blue eyes were glowing.

"You… bastard!" Ookami leapt up before anyone could stop her. Her normal grace was gone. She was in a rage as she threw punch after punch in his direction. Sasuke flew up behind her, kunai in hand, Sharingan ablaze. Itachi simply raised his arm and swiped it effortlessly away. Ookami and Sasuke were sent flying back to the group.

Kaname took an anxious step towards Sasuke, but a hand stopped her.

"Kakashi!" Kaname yelled. Kakashi looked at his daughter and shoved her behind him. Shocked by his blunt action, she remained still.

Sasuke shakily stood up. Ookami, already standing, looked un-phased.

"Uchiha Itachi," Kakashi yelled up at the ninja, "you are classified as a Rank S missing nin! Surrender now, or face the consequences!"

The raven haired man chuckled. Something in Kakashi snapped.

"Fine! Have it your way!" Suddenly, Lightning consumed his hand, and then he shot into the air.

"Oraa!" Kakashi's hand flew forth, attempting to stab the cloaked man, but to no avail. He had disappeared.

"You've forgotten, Kakashi…" a voice spoke low from behind the silver haired nin. Kakashi's eyes widened. "You're in _my_ world now…"

The scenery around all the ninja began to change to black, white, and red. Something in Kaname continued to click, sending wave after wave of pain through her body. It took all she had not to cry out.

But the memories! They were so close!

'If I can endure this…! Maybe... just maybe…! I'll remember something!'

Itachi's eyes wondered over to Kaname's form. Her face was tense, and her eyes were hard. 'She's good at hiding her pain,' he smirked, amused. 'How long till she breaks…' Itachi was torn from his musing by the sound of another chidori coming his way. Elegantly, he sidestepped the blow, but this time, he reappeared behind Kaname.

The girl froze. White hot pain coursed through her body, radiating from the scar on her back.

"AHG!" Kaname yelled out. 'Did his presence make it worse?'

"Get away from her!" Kakashi and Sasuke yelled in a dysfunctional unison. Itachi merely laughed and pulled Kaname into his arms, holding her hostage. He smiled evilly.

"Would you like to lose another daughter Kakashi?" he said coldly as he pulled a kunai to the small girl's neck. "Or was the previous one I killed enough for you?"

Kaname's eyes widened. 'Another daughter… what?'

Kakashi's face was boiling with anger. He took a step forward, but all that earned him was a cry from Kaname as the kunai dug into her neck.

"Let her go, fool!" Ookami yelled. "Your battle is with me!"

Itachi continued as if she hadn't said a word. "You've found quite the replacement, though, haven't you? She's almost an exact replica." Itachi took his finger and traced it along the corner of Kaname's jaw. Despite the deeper cut it earned her, Kaname jerked away from his touch. Itachi leaned in to Kaname and whispered into her ear. "Kana was stronger though, you pathetic girl." His disgusting peppermint breath floated around her. She always hated peppermint…

Kaname took that single opportunity to mentally tell Ookami to strike. Even if the attack killed Kaname, she knew Ookami would take it.

And she did.

Ookami flew forward with lightning speed and tackled Itachi to the forest floor, sending Kaname flying out of his arms. She hit the hard ground with a thud. Aya rushed to Kaname's side, only to be thrust away by the said girl. Kaname's eyes were hot and angry.

"Kaname, your neck…!" Aya glanced worriedly at the blood that was trickling down and plopping into Kaname's gloved hand. Kaname quickly healed the cut, ignoring the blood as best she could.

'Kana… was Kakashi's other daughter…?' Kaname looked around. The world was spinning. It all made since now: why she had always been compared to a girl named 'Kana", why Kakashi was so protective of her, why they always moved around… It was to keep her safe.

Kaname saw Ookami and Itachi twirling in almost a dance like fashion, and hot, bright flames soaking through Sasuke's lips. The hot crackling of a chidori was also heard, and the sounds of Neji and Lee yells were scattered in the mix. Kaname looked up into Aya's bright green orbs.

"Help them…"

Aya nodded and took out her staff, ready to fight. Kaname stood up, but lost her balance and fell back down. Everything was still swaying, and she couldn't shake the pain any longer.

"Sasuke…" she mumbled as she looked around. Where was he? Why was he the only thing she could think about at the moment? She knew she should have been furious at Kakashi for never telling her about this _other_ daughter, but only despair coursed through her veins.

"Ahg!"

Kaname snapped her head in the direction of the scream. Sasuke lay on the floor, fallen, with his brother standing over him, Katana ready to slice through the young boy.

It had to have been second nature. Through all the dizziness and pain, Kaname felt her legs moving—no –_running_. Itachi's sword was now coming down upon Sasuke, and Kaname could only do one thing: scream.

"No!"

Kaname dove in front of the sword. Her chest heaved up and down as the tip of the katana stopped right at the base of her throat. Kaname's back covered Sasuke, protecting him.

Itachi's eyes smirked. "Foolish brother… So you've found a new play toy?"

Sasuke growled and threw Kaname to the side and tackled his brother to the ground.

"Now, Ookami!" Sasuke yelled. A flash of white hair came out of nowhere, along with several other flashes. Ookami and three wolves descended on the Uchiha, while two other giant wolves tore Sasuke out of the mix.

Itachi yelled as he felt the over-sized dogs biting into his flesh and tearing at his form. Ookami swiftly appeared next to him and grabbed the traitor by the cloak, pulling him up to her face.

She didn't say anything; she just glared into his charcoal eyes. That's when Itachi's lips turned up into a deadly smile. Ookami, confused, didn't have time to react as his eyes began to swirl and mix into a bloody crimson. She gasped when she made eye contact and let the Uchiha drop. The world began spinning around the wolf girl.

'That bastard!' she screeched as she tried to keep conscious.

Kaname saw her teammate falter and let the Uchiha slip. "Ookami, look out!" she yelled. Itachi had already taken his sword and was thrusting it in her direction.

"I don't think so!" Aya yelled. Her staff intercepted the knife that was meant for the frozen girl.

"Ookami," she snapped as she pulled her away from the Sharingan bearer, "snap the hell outta it!" Ookami's eyes seemed to clear, and she shook her head.

'Itachi,' she cried mentally, 'you know I'm allergic to Sharingan… Yet you still—'she couldn't bring herself to finish her thought. 'No, he is a traitor. He's not the Itachi I used to know… I can't harbor any unnecessary feelings.'

Itachi began to chuckle. '"Well," he sighed, "this has been fun… I've needed a little exercise…" As he spoke, he began to disintegrate into feathers and reappear a good 10 yards from the group of Konoha ninja. He brought his hands into a seal and closed his eyes. "But I fear I must be taking my leave." When he opened his eyes again, everyone gasped.

They were standing exactly where they had been before they had learned Ookami's name.

"It was all a Genjutsu!" Sasuke cursed. He jumped up into the tree's to attach his brother, but Itachi just smirked and vanished in a puff of white smoke. His voice lingered behind for a moment.

"Ookami," it said. Ookami's rabid eyes flicked nervously about. "I'll be back… Heh, I hope next time, you're prepared…"

The clearing went silent as the voice disappeared.

Kaname's scar still throbbed, but her eyes were wide. She had remembered something else. The pain had been worth it.

After an eternity, Ookami turned to them.

"What are you all staring at?" she growled. "The village is in sight… move it!"

"Uh…" Aya stumbled with her words. "What just happened…?" Everybody looked around nervously, and finally towards Sasuke, who still stood on the branch his older brother had disappeared from.

Kakashi sighed. "Let's go… Hokage-Sama will want to hear about this. Sas-"

"I'll get him." Kaname volunteered. Daiske smirked at Kaname.

"Aw, forming feelings for the bastard?"

Kaname glared half heartedly at him. "You wish… At least then you would have something over my head, Mr. Polar Bear." Daiske's eyes widened, and then his hand was over her mouth.

"Shh!" he spat. "You promised not to tell anyone about Sir Whitie!" He nervously looked around to make sure no one had heard Kaname spill his secret about his stuffed polar bear.

Kaname laughed softly in his hand, and then removed it from her mouth. "Ya, ya… I won't. So go with the others, now." Daiske sighed and swung his arm over Kaname's small shoulders.

"If he touches a hair on you, I'll kill him, okay?"

"Oh, you bet."

Kaname smiled falsely up at the brunette teammate and waved as he ran to catch up to the others. The young girl dropped the act when she turned back to Sasuke. Kaname silently made her way up the tree towards him.

The setting sun was bloody and cast a red shadow over his features. It was kinda scary, but mesmerizing. His hair gave off a radiating red with its normally silky blackness entwined with it. His cold eyes shimmered with anger and hate, but something in him, deep down, looked broken and dead. Carefully, Kaname took her gloved hand and grabbed Sasuke's fisted one. He jumped slightly at the feeling of fingers intertwining with his.

"What are you doing?" he spat. Kaname looked at her feet, and then yanked at his hand. "Oi!" he yelped as he was spun into Kaname's arms. He froze.

Kaname's wrapped her arms around his large frame. "Don't look so sad," she whispered. "It makes me upset…"

"Why would you care?" he mumbled into her soft head, but he made no attempt to move. 'Kaname's hair smells like raspberries…' he thought. 'Just like Kana…'

Kaname didn't answer. Carefully, she took in the scent of Sasuke. Over the past months, his smell seemed to be something she couldn't get enough of. It was… intoxicating.

Realizing the enormity of what she had just thought, she abruptly punched Sasuke's arm and spun the other way and ran.

"What the hell, Hatake?" Sasuke yelled. Kaname laughed.

"Catch me if you can, sour puss!"

Sasuke growled and ran after her. 'This girl is gonna be the death of me…'

But somewhere deep down, he smiled slightly. She always knew when to be there and when to disappear, not like his annoying fan girls.

"Thank you Kaname…" he whispered ever so softly, making sure she didn't hear him. For if she had, she surly would have never let it go.

~x~

Night had struck Konoha by the time the two teams wearily stepped into the village. Hardly a word had been spoken on the journey home, that is, if you don't count the nonsense-able babble between Guy and Lee. The teams parted ways with a nod and an exchanging of glances before going to their homes. Kaname took a step in the direction of her house, but Kakashi stopped her before she could go any further.

"Kaname," he said quietly, "no detours this time. Please." The look in Kakashi's eye was tired and worried. After learning of Kakashi's other daughter, she had suddenly understood why he was so protective of her. Kaname frowned and pulled at her father's retreating form.

"Kakashi…" her voice quivered, "I'm so sorry about what I said before… I could never hate you," she whispered. "I love you like you are my real dad. I just… I just got so angry that I was always being told what to do, where to be, how to act… I'm a big girl Kakashi, and I can take care of myself, but my actions spoke otherwise… Please, forgive me…?"

Kaname was surprised when his large, warm arms engulfed her. He kissed the top of her head and smiled trough his mask. "I did a long time ago, sweetheart."

The small girl moved out of her dad's arms and looked into his eye. "But Kakashi… we need to talk… about what Itachi said about Kana…"

Kakashi nodded slowly and began walking towards the Hokage's office. "Tomorrow… we'll talk tomorrow." And with that, he disappeared into the night leaving Kaname to her thoughts.

~x~

The white haired woman shut her door tightly behind her. The dark room engulfed her soul and settled at the bottom of her heart.

Ookami swayed slightly before falling her knees, gasping and choking on the air around her as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Pathetic," a voice whispered from above her. Ookami's head flew up to meet the ANBU leader's masked face. Her sister slowly bent down to touch her tear stained cheek. "My, my, how the mighty have fallen…"

Ookami slapped the hand away. "Don't touch me, fool." The ANBU's harsh laughed filled the once quiet house uneasily.

"Oh, come now! I can do whatever I please. I'm your _sister_!" She sneered the last word like it was a joking matter.

A dark aura surrounded Ookami was she spoke quietly. "You're forgetting one little detail, you damned ANBU …" Ookami rabidly put her hands in a seal formation and yelled.

"Release!" The ANBU's shocked face rapidly deteriorated in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind only Ookami. Her bangs covered her eyes and a dark smile played on her lips as she chuckled darkly.

"You can't defy me, because you are me!"

Her anger made her body shake. She walked slowly to her room where she slammed the door shut, breaking a small portion of the frame in the process.

She sat on her bed and let her furious tears fall and blur her vision. The 15 year old looked at her hands in her lap and looked at one wrist which was covered by a thin red ribbon. She took her long nail and sliced it off, letting the fabric fall to the ground. Exposed now were three tattoos on the small of her right wrist. From left to right were her clan symbol, the ANBU tattoo, and a small music note... A small, hot tear fell on the ANBU symbol. Unlike the other two, she had been born with this character embedded on her wrist.

"ANBU Leaders are not made, they are born…" she recited with a small 'huh' at the end. She learned this at a very young age. Her second teacher, not counting her father, was Anko. She taught Ookami everything she needed to know to fulfill her duty as the Leader. At times, the people she commanded would never take her seriously because of her ripe age of 6. She work harder and harder everyday to be equals with them, and finally, they learned to respect her as their chief.

And then there was that damned Uchiha Sasuke who almost ruined her good ANBU façade. Ookami's hand shakily went to grasp her throat where a black chocker laid. The red pearl that hung in the middle burned slightly at her touch. He was the reason she had to create that damned clone of a sister. Long ago when she first met the Uchiha's, Fugaku, Sasuke's father, cursed her. A little girl named Kana Hatake was apparently "threatening" the families safely, and he wanted her to protect them since she was the ANBU Leader and all. She, of course, refused, saying that Kana was only an eight year old kid.

For talking back, the bastard took a chakra consumed choker and slapped it over her throat! From that moment on, she was forced to go wherever they went, do whatever they wanted, until the day of the last Uchiha's death. That's why even when she graduated the Ninja Academy, she had to stay and wait another year for Sasuke to finish. From the moment she met the Uchiha's and still to this day, she has had to have a clone of herself do all her ANBU work. The only good that came out of that was that she could make the clone slightly older to accommodate her comrade's preferences.

Ookami's tears had slowly stopped and her eyes were now res and stung. Exhaustion overwhelmed her body and sleep sank in. Ookami fell back into her bed and looked out her window. The moonless sky seemed to suck her up, and she was soon fast asleep.

The images that began forming behind the unconscious girls lids could not be stopped. Dreams of her past forced their way into her subconscious, and before she knew it, she was reliving her most regretted day of her life.

It was the day Itachi left her…


End file.
